The 12 Pains of Christmas
by the last dreamer
Summary: Based on the song of the same name, done Inuyasha style! Christmas cards, charities, and carols. Oh my! This is not your normal songfic!
1. Finding a Christmas tree

A/N: Hi all! Welcome to 'The 12 Pains of Christmas' Inuyasha style. I've decided to do a holiday fic and wait a bit on _Never Fall in Love With Laboratory Escapees_ chapter 2.

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Disclaimer: I want 'em, but that doesn't mean they're mine. And the song is from the Twisted Christmas CD. 

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**The 12 Pains of Christmas**: chapter 1

     Inuyasha grumbled as he sat in Kagome's living room. Mrs. Higurashi was there, looking at him with her eyes.

     "Feh. Fine. Just tell me what I have to do," he growled, and Kagome's mother began to jump up and down in happiness. 

     "This is so great! Thanks a lot Inuyasha-niichan!" Souta cried. "Kagome! Inuyasha said he'd do it! Get off your lazy butt and let's go!" 

     Kagome mumbled something about dead little brothers and levered herself off the couch. The two had just come from the Feudal Era and Kagome had just sat down to relax for a moment. But her mother had come up with the brilliant idea for the family to go chop down their own Christmas tree. Now the four of them (Jii-chan had opted to stay home, away from his granddaughter's demon friend) were making their way out to the car. They were heading to a beautiful little forest just out of town. 

     Kagome sighed and watched things fly past out the car window. There goes a house…an apartment building…another house…three telephone poles. 'Oh this is so much fun,' she thought sarcastically. She had never been much of a Christmas person, deciding long ago it had become very commercialized. Sure she liked the gifts, but to her it felt like that was all it was. No longer did families care to get together and eat together, and only the select religious few went to church for the midnight mass. It made her kind of sad to think that so many people didn't care anymore. 

     When her mother had suggested they all go out together, like Inuyasha was part of the family, her heart had soared. Kagome would get to tell her friend all about the importance of Christmas, and show him what it was truly all about. She was shaken out of her stupor when the car stopped and she heard her mother's shout of, "We're here!"

     "Yay! I'm gonna go find the best tree in the place. You'll see!" Souta shouted, already out of the car and disappearing into the tree line. Soon his puffy red winter coat couldn't be seen through the thick pine trees. Inuyasha was growling and cracking his knuckles, getting ready to attack his car door because it wouldn't let him out. Kagome sighed and quickly showed him how to lift the little handle and push. 

     When she exited her side, she saw her mother had already vanished into the forest, too. 

     "Kagome?" Inuyasha's voice was quiet.

     "Yeah?" 

     "What is a 'Krismass' tree?" he seemed hesitant to ask.

     "It's a tree that we cut down and take to our house. Then we decorate it with little lights and glittery garland and ornaments. My mom will put an angel on top and then on Christmas Eve, we all set our presents for each other under the tree," she explained. She knew some people bought artificial trees, but she didn't want to confuse the poor hanyou any more than he already was. 

     "Feh. I knew that," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

     Kagome made a small sound of frustration and left him standing in the parking lot. Unfortunately, he caught up to her relatively fast and started to sniff out her missing family members. 

     Finally they found Souta, staring up at the top of an enormous evergreen. It must have been at least 20 feet tall. Of course, Souta didn't care that it wouldn't fit in the house. He wanted it because he thought it was the best in the whole place. Also, he wanted this excursion over as soon as possible so he could get back to his Gameboy. Eventually Mrs. Higurashi wandered over and tried to convince Souta to find another, smaller tree. It certainly didn't seem like she was getting through to him until he reluctantly left in search of another. The next one he found was only a little bit smaller, and wide enough to take up most of their living room. The next was relatively the right size, but still too wide. 

     Inuyasha and Kagome were getting antsy. Kagome was just tapping her foot impatiently, but the hanyou was beginning to growl and fidget. 'Why can't the little runt just pick one already? What makes any of these trees so specially that we have to sit here for an hour thinking about it?' he thought. 'They all look the same to me.' 

     "All right, Souta. We'll take this one. Inuyasha?" Mrs. Higurashi said, turning from her son to the boy standing next to her daughter. 

     "Yeah?" he answered gruffly.

     "Can you…I don't know, cut this one down?" she asked. 

     "Feh," was all he said before attacking the trunk of the tree. In no time the evergreen started to sway dangerously in Kagome's direction. Creaking was heard as the last inch or so of bark gave way and the tree rapidly fell. The girl wasn't paying all that much attention to the group, instead looking up into the sky as snowflakes began to fall. 

     "Kagome! Move!" Inuyasha shouted, diving for the shocked girl. 

     They both let out a grunt when they hit the ground, Inuyasha on top, protecting her. But when Kagome opened her eyes, she could only see his golden ones looking down at her and his silver locks framing their faces in a snowy curtain. The baseball cap that had hidden his ears had been knocked off; leaving them twitching adorably every time a flake hit them. She reached up slowly and started to rub the base of his ears, feeling a rumble grow in his chest where it was pressed to hers. His eyes drifted shut in contentment, but then snapped open again when he heard Kagome's mother say something.

     "Kagome, Inuyasha, are you both alright?" 

     "Yeah, mom, I'm just fine. Inuyasha?" The girl under him answered.

     "Just dandy. Watch out next time, wench." He couldn't help it. It was his immediate reaction to push her away after what had just happened. He shoved off the ground, getting to his feet and offering Kagome a hand up. She just knocked him away, rising on her own while glaring at him. 'Uh-oh. I know that look,' he thought with dread.

     "Wait, Kagome! Don't—" but he was cut off.

     "SIT!" she shouted, watching as the magic rosary glowed for a moment before he was slammed face first into the ground. She stormed off, leaving her mother and brother to deal with the rude dog-boy. 'How dare he make it my fault…even thought it kinda was. All right it mostly was. But he didn't have to be so rude about it, did he?' she asked herself. When no little inner voice answered, she sighed. Reaching the car, she rested her back against it, waiting for her family to appear with the tree so they could head home. 

     The snow was falling heavier now, coating the grass and parking lot in sparkling sugar. Everything was already becoming covered in white, and she wished her mother would hurry. It would be dangerous to try and drive in this soon. Just as she was getting ready to go find them, three figures emerged from the woods, one carrying the large blur she assumed to be their tree. 

     Suddenly, the hanyou sneezed. The sound shook all the snow from the hanyou's head and the tree over his shoulder. Kagome saw that the leaves were all but blinding him, and figured one must have tickled his nose. She giggled quietly at the cute face he was making before helping strap the tree to the roof of the car for the ride home. 

     ** More later. I'll try and finish this by Christmas. Expect 12 chappies, and maybe an epilogue. 

_The first thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me_

_Is finding a Christmas tree._


	2. Rigging up the lights

A/N: Hello. I couldn't resist trying to put out another chappie of this tonight. The second pain of Christmas is definitely my favorite of the 12. It reminds me sooo much of Inuyasha…. 

Disclaimer: Guess what? They still aren't mine.

**The 12 Pains of Christmas**: chapter 2

     After the fiasco of getting home and forcing the tree through the door, all that was left was to string up the lights. Of course, that meant explaining what the lights were and did to their hanyou guest first. He'd never seen a string of little tiny flashing white lights before. 'This will be fun,' Kagome thought. She held up the cord and began speaking as though he were a slow child. 

     "These are Christmas lights. You plug them in here and then wrap them around the branches of the tree. They can either flash or be steady, and they make the tree very beautiful to see at night. This tree, though, will take several strings of them because it's so big." He seemed to understand what she was saying, so she wasn't even going to confuse the poor boy by breaking down how they worked. He'd never understand electricity and circuits and all that…Heck, she barely understood it. She plugged the string in to show him, and then pulled them out and wrapped them around the cardboard they came with. 

     Inuyasha nodded, not looking at her, and reached out his finger towards the empty outlet. 

     "I wouldn't do that if I were you," she warned.

     "Feh. You're not though," he said, but hesitated all the same. "Why not?"

     "It'll hurt. Probably not so much, you being a demon and all, but…" she trailed off, realizing she was rambling. 

     "So?" he said, his finger getting even closer to the socket. She shrugged, letting him learn his own lesson. But he stopped and drew his finger away, a slightly hurt look on his face. She didn't quite understand, but if he didn't want to electrocute himself, then she was okay with it. 

     "Hey, mom?" Kagome called to the woman in the kitchen. Mrs. Higurashi was rolling out dough for cookies and humming a carol as she went. 

     "Yes?" she answered. 

     "Where are the extension cords?" she asked, seeing that the cords wouldn't reach from the tree to the outlet she and Inuyasha were sitting by. It was one of only two sockets in the living room, and the other one was even farther from the corner where they had put the pine. 

     "What extension cords?"

     "You know, the big orange ones that we use every year?"

     "Oh, those. I have no idea. They're probably in the basement, though. With the rest of the Christmas stuff."

     "Okay, I'll go look." She hurried down to the basement, finding the boxes all the way in the back, under a bunch of other crates. It took a lot of energy to move some of them, but she finally succeeded in freeing her prize. It was a huge box made to fit the tree and all the trimmings. When that turned up nothing of what she was looking for, she fumbled around a bit more and found the boxes with other holiday stuff. Kagome searched through all the other, smaller containers and still could find no cords. 

     "Mom! They're not down here!" she called up the stairs. 

     "Then we have none." Her mother didn't seem to care that much. Inuyasha just sat there, waiting for Kagome to come back. At the bottom of the stairs, she let out an aggravated growl and bit her lip. 

     "What? We don't have any? Then how are we going to get the lights from the tree to the socket?"

     "I trust you'll figure it out, dear." 

     Another frustrated sound floated up the stairs right before Kagome appeared. She sighed and slumped over to the couch. Inuyasha got up off the floor and sat next to her.

     "Couldn't we just use another string of lights to get from the plug to the tree?" he asked innocently. He was surprised when she turned to him with a bright smile of her face. 'Wait, why didn't I think of that?' she asked herself.

     "I could kiss you, Inuyasha!" she said without thinking, bounding off the couch. He fell on the floor, completely stunned. 'WHAT?!' he thought. He echoed his thoughts out loud. 

     "Hmm?" she asked absently. 

     "What did you mean by that?" he asked.

     "What did I mean by what?" he couldn't tell if she was playing or not. 

     "Feh. Never mind." Kagome glanced over long enough to see him plop back onto the couch. She ignored him and continued ringing the lights around the tree. Things were peacefully quiet for a time, until she reached the last of the lights at the very top of the tree. 

     "Darn it!" she caught herself before she cursed. The string just wouldn't work. Now she'd have to sit there and find which stupid little bulb it was that was out. 

     "What?" the confused hanyou asked. One moment she had been happily working and humming something under her breath, and the next she looked ready to scream at the bulbs in her hand. 

     "One goes out, they all go out. That's how these older strings work. So now I get to sit here and take them out one at a time trying to find which is the bad one," she said, sitting cross-legged on the floor and pulling the string into her lap. He sighed and just watched as she began to work. Just when she was ready to jump up and down on the thing, she found the cause of her problems. 

     "Ha!" she shouted, causing Inuyasha to jerk out of his bored stupor. "Mom, come string the last bit of lights, would you?"

     Mrs. Higurashi came in from the kitchen wiping her hands on her apron. "Sure, where's the step stool?" 

     A few minutes later, the lights were done and the angel was at the top of the tree. They all stood there for a moment, admiring the tree. However, Inuyasha's outburst disrupted the quiet.

     "Why is it blinking?!" 

      Mrs. Higurashi looked at Kagome. Kagome looked at Inuyasha. Inuyasha looked around for the runt. He was conveniently missing. Just then a quiet giggle came from behind the couch where the outlet was. Peeking over the side, the three found Souta covering his mouth as he plugged and unplugged the first string of lights. Suddenly he did it again, but the bulbs didn't come back on. 

     "Runt, look what you did!" Souta swung around quickly, seeing he was caught. 

     "Honey, I think you blew a fuse. You better go fix it." his mother said. 

     "But, mom—" he didn't want to. He was just doing it to annoy Kagome. He didn't know that this would happen, and he certainly had thought he would be found out. 

     "No buts, young man. You did it, you fix it." she was firmer this time, and seeing no way out of it, Souta sighed and left to find a flashlight. Mrs. Higurashi turned back to her daughter and Inuyasha. 

     "Now that that's done, it's time for the garland and the ornaments!" Now she was getting excited. 

     "Yes!" Kagome cried before disappearing into the kitchen to grab a freshly baked cookie. 

     **Phew. Finished. New chappies tomorrow. Read, review, and I'll love you forever in the non-icky way. 

     Thankies lots to:

Tricky-the-kitsune-youkia and Celeste08 The second thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me 

_Rigging up the lights_

_And finding a Christmas tree. _


	3. Hangovers

A/N: I forgot to mention earlier that Kagome's a bit older, like 17-ish. Just old enough that she can drive. Can't have Mrs. Higurashi chauffer them everywhere, now can we? BTW, this one's gonna be much longer than the other two. 

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, they _still_ don't belong to me. They are probably never going to, either. 

**The 12 Pains of Christmas**: chapter 3

     "Hey Inuyasha! Come down here a moment." Souta had managed to snag the hanyou's attention with some video game or another and Kagome wanted to ask him something. 

     "What do ya want?" he asked as he came thumping down the stairs. 

     "My friend Yuka is throwing a Christmas party tonight. I'm going, and I thought you might like to come too."

     "Feh, whatever," he said, looking away at the newly decorated tree. He couldn't help remembering Kagome covered in garland and tinsel and he and her brother had ambushed her. The image brought a smile to his lips. 

     "Is that a yes?" Kagome didn't miss the small smile, and wondered what he was thinking about. 

     "Yeah, it is." 

     "Good. Now come on." She motioned for him to follow her as she walked into the kitchen, grabbing her mom's keys off the table. 

     "What? Where are we going now?" he said as opened the refrigerator. Inside he found the plate of extra cookie dough left over from yesterday. Grabbing it, he searched for the gallon of milk. 

     "Shopping. You didn't think you could go to a party in your hakama and haori, did you?" The door hid his face, but the sound of the clattering bowl couldn't have been missed.

     "Why not? What's wrong with them?" His face appeared and he leaned down to pick up his fallen snack. 

     "Nothing specifically. Just they stand out quite a bit in this era. We'll get you some jeans and a few t-shirts and you'll fit right in. Is that okay?" After wolfing down the last of the dough, he walked out of the kitchen.

     "Feh. Let me go tell the runt I'm not coming back to beat his butt." He called back over his shoulder. Inuyasha started back up the stairs, getting as far as the landing before she called to him again. 

     "Hurry up, the party starts at seven, and it's almost five now."

     "Gees, wench, calm down. We'll get—" he cut himself off, watching her face darken with remarkably speed. He knew what was coming and closed his eyes tightly, waiting for it. 

     "SIT! What have I told you about calling me 'wench?' Sit." He wasn't disappointed as his rosary glowed and pulled him face-first into the carpet. She stood above him, glowering, and he was tempted to burrow further into the carpet. But then his own anger came to life. It was such a little offense; did he deserve to be 'sat' twice? 

     "Argh," he said before lifting his aching body off the floor. Grumbling, he made his way up the rest of the stairs and told Souta he'd be leaving. The boy whined and pleaded, but to no avail. When Kagome wanted to do something, Inuyasha knew when not to push it. He'd just have to suffer a trip to the 'mall.' "Argh," he repeated on his way out to the car. Mrs. Higurashi had found him some of her late-husband's clothing. They were a bit tight, but it would do for a while. He opened the door and strapped the weird belt contraption across his chest like Kagome told him to, and then they were off. 

~*~

     "Feh. These don't look all that different than your father's clothes," Inuyasha said while holding up a pair of black jeans and a gray turtleneck sweater. 

     "I know, but these should fit you better, and they don't smell so musty. It should look really good on you," she said, trying really hard to push the hanyou into the dressing room to try on the outfit. But he just stood there as if it wasn't an effort at all. 'He's like a fricking rock!' she thought, huffing a piece of hair out of her face. 

     "Like I care about what I look like," he said petulantly. 

     "Please? It's only for tonight," Kagome pleaded. When she looked at him with those big eyes, his resistance crumbled. 'Like I ever had a chance against her,' he thought, allowing himself to be shut in the tiny room. 

     Ten minutes passed, and he still hadn't come out. She rapped her knuckles against the door, "Inuyasha? Everything alright in there?"  

     "These pants are really tight. How do you people walk in them?" he asked as he opened the door and came out, tugging on the denim. Looking him up and down, Kagome couldn't suppress the urge to grin. He looked so good in that outfit. 

     "You'll get used to it. Now go put my dad's clothes back on so we can go," she said, and he sighed, but did as she commanded. He came out and they paid for the items before making their way back to the car. They hit a bit of traffic, but they were home by six. It had begun to snow again, little flakes swirling about in the wind. 

~*~

     An hour later, Inuyasha was twiddling his thumbs on the living room couch, waiting for Kagome to come downstairs. He tugged on the leg of the jeans again, restlessly fidgeting. When she did appear, he choked. She looked absolutely stunning in a long red velveteen dress trimmed with white. She did a little twirl on the top of the steps, and the dress flared out around her. She came down to stand in front of him, giggling as she nudged his chin with her finger. 

     "Let's go, we're gonna be late already," Kagome said, grabbing her black jacket off the hook and snatching the keys. He got up to follow, surprised when he was hit in the chest with a denim coat. 

     "Mom, we're leaving! We should be back around midnight or so," she called up to her mother. 

     It wasn't as long a ride as he thought it would be. In a few moments they were walking up the front steps to a large house all lit up and decorated for the Christmas. A girl Kagome's age answered the door with a smile.

     "Kagome, come on in! You look great. And who is this?" she said in a whisper to her friend. 

     "Yuka, you remember my possessive, two-timing boyfriend, right?" Kagome answered in the same tone. The girl went bug-eyed as she turned to look at Inuyasha. 

     "Him?" Yuka hissed, glancing at said boy out of the corner of her eye. 

     "Yep! Inuyasha, meet Yuka. Yuka, this is Inuyasha," Kagome said, putting an end to their whispering. The girl stuck out a hand, and Inuyasha hesitantly clasped it. 

     "Nice to meet you," she said before the doorbell interrupted her. "Enjoy the party you two. Kagome, I'll talk to you later."

     Kagome led him further into house, towards the kitchen and living room. There were teenagers everywhere, talking over the Christmas music that was coming from the strange box in the corner. Inuyasha's ears were twitching all over the place under his black baseball cap. A weird smell was coming from the kitchen, and he left Kagome talking to one of her friends to investigate. It was kind of familiar, like sake and milk, but much more overpowering. The guy standing in front of the table handed him a cup of a thick white drink. He sniffed it cautiously before downing it quickly. It was surprisingly good. He asked for another. 

     "Inuyasha—? Where'd you go?" Kagome turned around, and finding the hanyou missing, she excused herself to find him. She just followed the shouting coming from the kitchen and found him downing glass after glass of eggnog. The guys circling him were cheering him on, and several of them were passing around money. Picking up a glass left on the table, she sniffed it and drew back quickly. This stuff had to be half alcohol! Kagome had no idea how many glasses Inuyasha had finished already, but by the number of glasses around him, it was more than she'd ever be able to handle. She immediately regretted bringing him here. God, he would be so hung over in the morning, even with his demon blood helping him out. 

     Shoving through the crowd, she stood in front of him with her hands on her hips. He couldn't see straight and was swaying in his seat, but he still recognized that look in her eye. He was gonna get it when they got home. 

     "I leave you alone for half an hour, and this is what happens?" she hissed, earning several chuckles from the guys around them. 

     "But…Kagome—" he started, but when he tried to get up, his legs gave way. She rushed forward to catch him, forgetting that he weighed a ton. Gravity almost pulled them both down before she got her feet under her. 

     "We'd better be heading home. I can't stay here with you like this. Come on," she said tightly.

     "Did you know you smell really good?" he slurred. Once again, the crowd laughed, parting to let the struggling girl through. The last person Kagome wanted to talk to at the moment chose that moment to come up.

     "Hey, Kagome!" Hojo shouted from in the living room. 

     "Oh, hi, Hojo," she said back, wanting to be out of there more than anything else now. She sighed as the king of naiveté came over and finally spotted Inuyasha slouching next to her. 

     "Who's this?" he asked, jumping forward to help lift him. 

     "This is my friend, Inuyasha. He's a bit drunk right now, so I'm gonna take him home." The three were gradually making their way to the front door, where Yuka was waiting. 

     "Kagome, what happened?" Kagome just sighed and shook her head. 

     Pointing at the hanyou between her and Hojo, she said, "I found him downing the spiked eggnog—" Yuka cut her off, looking horrified. 

    "Somebody spiked it? Damn! Mom will never let me have another party if she finds out!" With that, the girl scampered off to the kitchen, already yelling. Kagome smiled a little and motioned to Hojo to follow her out to the car. They settled the sleeping Inuyasha into the passenger seat and she stood to go around to her side. 

     "Hey, Kagome? Before you go, I wanted to ask you if we could maybe see a movie sometime?"

     "I don't know, Hojo. Maybe," she said quickly, trying to get rid of him and go. Clueless as he was though, he didn't catch the hint and instead moved even closer to Kagome, trapping her between him and the closed passenger door. He closed his eyes and started to lean in even closer. That was when she smelt the alcohol on his breath. She winced, not knowing what to do. Suddenly a hand brushed past her hip as Inuyasha groggily reached through the open window and pressed his hand to Hojo's chest. 

     "Nuh-uh. You can't do that," even drunk off his rocker, Inuyasha managed to looked very threatening.

     "Kagome, you sure you wanna get in the car alone with him?" Hojo sounded perfectly ready to jump in to supervise. 

     "Yes, now, go back to the party and enjoy yourself," she said, and this time he listened. She let out a deep breath and raced around to her side of the car. Inuyasha was asleep again, his mouth open and snoring lightly. Kagome couldn't remember ever seeing him sleeping in his demon form before. He looked really peaceful and almost child-like. 

~*~ 

     When Kagome pulled into the drive at 8:00, Mrs. Higurashi knew something was wrong. She went outside, only to find her daughter struggling to get a snoring Inuyasha out of the passenger seat. No questions were asked as she went to help, and together they managed to get him onto the couch. 

     Breathing slightly heavier than usual, Mrs. Higurashi asked, "What happened?"

     "Somebody spiked the eggnog. And I found him surrounded by empty cups," Kagome said, nodding at the hanyou. 

     "Oh, he's going to have a lovely morning, isn't he?" her mother said with a smile. She couldn't help her answering grin.

     "Nope, poor guy," their voices were fading as they went upstairs to let the hanyou sleep in peace.

~*~ 

     The next morning found Inuyasha slitting his eyes open, wincing at the bright sunlight. He groaned and rolled over, not realizing he was on the small couch. When he hit the floor, he groaned again, and Kagome came into the room to see what had happened. She giggled lightly, but stopped when he spoke.

     "Kagome, not so loud!"

     "I'm sorry, Inuyasha," she whispered, coming to his side to help him up. 

     "My head hurts," he whined and Kagome led him to the bathroom for some Advil as her mother made some coffee. They had barely gotten up the stairs when he suddenly sprinted for the bathroom. He worshipped the porcelain gods for a while, grateful for the cool hands stroking his hair back and the damp cloth dabbing his forehead. Once his stomach was empty, he turned and found Kagome offering him some toilet paper. Inuyasha wiped his mouth and stood on wobbly legs, readily accepting the two small pills she handed him. They made their way back downstairs and he sipped at the mug Mrs. Higurashi placed in his hand. 

     "You should be better by the afternoon. I'm surprised your demon blood hasn't already kicked in," Kagome observed. 

     "I never was a heavy drinker, so it could be expected," he said quietly, staring down at the table. She looked on sympathetically as he sat there, miserable. The only upside was that he'd be fine soon. Then maybe he could help her write out some last minute Christmas cards. 

     **I'm not feeling so great, so this will be the only chappy tonight. It means more work tomorrow, but luckily school lets out early. Happy holidays to everyone.

Thankies lots to:

**Defafaeth Mechqua, The Turmoil Twins,** Battousi Girl,** Akako the panther hanyu, Celeste08, xo-Kagome-ox**, Sapphire the Water Goddess,** Earth's Rain,** *KaGs&YaSHa*, and **drake220**.

**The Turmoil Twins:** I've never seen the Osbourne Christmas Special, but I can just picture it. 

Actually, I just burned my dad's CD. Then I sat here and typed the lyrics as I listened to it. I'm trying to figure out how to do the 'Five months of bills' chapter. That'll take a while. 

_The third thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me_

_Hangovers_

_Rigging up the lights_

_And finding a Christmas tree._


	4. Sending Christmas cards

A/N: Alright everyone, I'm aiming for three chappies today. Maybe more if I have time. You've all been great reviwers, and it's really helping me get motivated. I'm really in the spirit today…let's see how this goes.

Disclaimer: You know what? They'd make a great Christmas present, waiting under the tree. Along with my Hot Topic pants and DDR. But I think it's a bit of a stretch. ::pout::

**The 12 Pains of Christmas**: chapter 4

     "And who's this one for?" It had to be about the fiftieth time Inuyasha had asked that question. The family was all sitting around the kitchen table, each with a stack of Christmas cards reaching over their heads. Mrs. Higurashi would write them out and pass them to Inuyasha, who checked them off the master list. He then passed them to Kagome who would put them in envelopes and write out the address, and Souta got the highly sought-after job of licking the envelope seals. The poor runt kept making disgusted faces and reaching for his glass of water. Jii-chan was around somewhere, more than likely taking a nap in his meditation room.

     "Let me see the name," Kagome said, leaning over to read it while her hands kept working methodically. "Oh. That one's for my mom's uncle's half-sister's son. His name's Davie, and he's almost 2."

     "You people really send these cards to your mom's…whatever?" he asked incredulous. Kagome giggled at the look on his face. 

     "Sure, we just saw them at the family reunion last summer. Which I almost missed because _someone_ wanted me to go shard hunting," she replied with a pointed look in his direction.

     Silence reigned for a few moments, and then the hanyou spoke up again.

     "Do you mean me?" and Souta and Kagome almost fell out of their chairs. Mrs. Higurashi laughed lightly, and then answered him.

     "Yes, dear, she did. But it's okay, really. She doesn't mind, right?"

     Kagome looked guilty.

     "No, mom."

     Things were quiet again, the soft Christmas melodies playing again. Kagome started humming along to the symphony playing, she had always liked the Trans Siberian Orchestra. The only sounds heard above the music were the gently snipping of scissors and the shuffling of paper. Ever since Souta and Kagome could remember, their mother had always created and decorated her own Christmas cards. This year was no different. The cards advertised little white doves with their wings spread on a background of green and red marbled paper. On the back, personalized messages were written in black calligraphy.

     "Mom, how do you do it? Keep track of everybody, I mean," Souta asked a little while later. 

     "It isn't very hard. And I enjoy doing it," she answered.

     Inuyasha finished his current pile and decided to bug Kagome while he waited for Mrs. Higurashi to be done with a few more. He poked her in the side, his hand under the table. She jumped and let out a shriek, then glared at him accusingly. He held up his hands in a placating gesture he had learned from Souta. 

     "I just wanted to know what we're gonna do after we're done this," he said with an innocent look. 

     Kagome sighed, 'Why can't I stay mad at him?' 

     "Well, I still have to get some last minute shopping done, so it's off to the mall again. Is that alright?"

     "Feh. Anything is better than this. My hand hurts," his voice started off macho and nonchalant, but by the end, he was whining. His ears drooped slightly, making Kagome want to reach out and perk them back up. Mrs. Higurashi didn't even look up, instead commenting that he should take a break and eat something. He got up from the table and began rummaging in the cabinets.

     "They're in the top cabinet, bottom shelf to the right," Kagome said, knowing exactly what he was searching for. He came out with an instant ramen in each hand and a big grin on his face. They didn't last long though, and Inuyasha was soon back in his seat. Kagome looked, ready to ask him something, but stopped as she noticed the mess he had made of his face. With a laugh, she got up to find a towel.

     "Here," she said, offering him a damp washcloth. He looked at her, puzzled, until she motioned for him to wipe his face. A light blush stained his cheeks before he realized that before it had never bothered him to make a mess of his food. 'Why now?' he thought. 

     "Inuyasha?" Kagome's voice came from next to him several minutes later. 

     "What?"

     "Why aren't you working?" she asked, diligently writing out addresses as her pile dwindled slowly. 

     "Feh, I'll work when I want to, woman! It's not like I know any of these people anyway," he said, nose in the air and arms crossed over his chest. He didn't have to look at her to know what was coming. 'What is this? Do I like being 'sat' or something?' he thought as his face was buried in the plush carpet of the kitchen. When the spell wore off, he lifted himself with aching joints. Mumbling incoherently, he retook his spot at the table. 

     Inuyasha wasn't the only one getting antsy. Souta was fidgeting in his seat as well. 

     "Mom, do we have to send them all this year? I think I got a paper cut on my tongue," the boy whined in an impressive imitation of his all-time favorite role model. Kagome ducked her head to hide her smile. The little dork just wanted to get back to his game systems. She had heard him last night yelling at the T.V. something about the evil monsters in the last level. 'Probably wants to finish it before he opens all those new games I know he's getting for Christmas.' Her little brother never was very good at lying, especially to their mother. 

     Mrs. Higurashi sighed. "Souta, I really need your help this year. There are so many still left to finish, and they all have to be mailed today," she said, hoping to guilt the young boy into helping. She didn't feel too bad, because sometimes, especially with her son, it had to be done. He played enough Gameboy and Nintendo and whatever as it was. 

     "But, Mom…I don't even know half of these people! And the ones I do know like to pinch my cheeks and tell me how cute I am!" The resistance was still there, but it was crumbling rapidly. 

     "Please, Souta? It would mean a lot to me," she pleaded, trying to avoid using the 'help me or Santa isn't coming this Christmas' line.

     It worked, and the runt slumped back into his seat, taking a sip of water before going back to work. Inuyasha was impressed. Next to him, Kagome was shaking with silently laughter. Souta scrunched up his face and stuck out his tongue at her. The chuckling stopped, and she glared at the boy. This only prompted him to stick his thumbs in his ears and make faces at her. Kagome started shaking with anger, her hands itching to wrap around her little brother's throat. The little twerp was asking for it. 

     "Sit!" she yelled, not realizing it wouldn't affect Souta in the slightest until it was too late. Inuyasha slammed face-first into the floor, breaking the chair he had been sitting in. 

     "Oh! I'm so sorry, Inuyasha!" she apologized automatically before turning her glare to the boy across from her who was laughing so hard he looked ready to wet his pants. He teetered precariously on the edge of his chair for a moment before falling off. "I finally know what I'm going to get you for Christmas, Souta," she said in a singsong to her brother. The runt's laughter was suddenly replaced with a shocked silence as he lay on the floor with a horrified look on his face. 'Good, he isn't as dense as I thought. Every male should come with his own subduing spell.'

     It took another hour and a half for the four to finish, the time liberally sprinkled with laughing, 'sits', and Kagome's apologies. 

     **Wow, that didn't take me too long at all. Maybe there will be more out today. Please read and review. I'll love ya forever in the non-icky way!

     Thankies lots to:

**Inulover12, xo-Kagome-ox, Celeste08,Akako the panther hanyu**, jlp,** Demongirl6381, The Turmoil Twins**, and Musical Nymph of the Rose Forest.

**Celeste08:** I had to put Hojo in somewhere. I'm actually much better now. A five-hour nap will do that to ya! You really got out last week? No fair!!

**The Turmoil Twins:** Thanx for the idea. I should have the chapter out later today. Can you picture Inuyasha in a mall full of last-minute shoppers? 

The fourth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me 

_Sending Christmas cards_

_Hangovers_

_Rigging up the lights_

_And finding a Christmas tree._


	5. Five months of bills

A/N: Hello again, everyone! Ready for another chappie? The idea for this one came from **The Turmoil Twins**, I just added on to it. I think this chapter will be another longer one, too. 

Disclaimer: What do ya know? They aren't mine.

**The 12 Pains of Christmas**: chapter 5

     "Come _on_, Inuyasha! You were just there yesterday! You're not afraid, are you?" Kagome taunted, trying to get the hanyou out the door and into the car. She wanted to hurry up and get her last minute shopping done, but he wouldn't budge. Mrs. Higurashi had accidentally mentioned something about huge crowds of angry consumers, and he'd been a rock ever since. 

     He just shook his head. He wasn't going to listen to her, and he most certainly wasn't going anywhere a place with hundreds of pushy, yelling people. Something told him his ears wouldn't survive long if he went. Inuyasha sent up a silent thank-you to Mrs. Higurashi before plopping himself even more firmly in his seat. 

     "Nope. No way," he said with a resolute shake of his head. 

     "Fine then. I'll just go all alone, with no one to protect me from all the big, bad people lurking in the mall…" she let the sentence hang. It didn't take long for her words to register, and when they did, Inuyasha was on his feet in front of her, already glancing around as if searching for said people. 

     "Relax, Inuyasha. So you're coming, then?" she asked, unable to keep the grin off her face for long. He had fallen for it, exactly as she thought he would. Just then Souta popped out of nowhere, big eyes asking if he could come, too. 

     "Alright, Souta. You can come. Go turn on the heat in the car, would you?" she asked, handing him the keys. He scampered out the door and past the living room window on his way to the car. 

     Kagome was shrugging on her coat when her mother walked over. In her hand was her credit card.

     "Here, use this. You can pay me back later. I just don't want you carrying around a bunch of cash in a crowded mall," she said, placing the card in Kagome's hand and closing her fingers around it. 

     "Thanks a lot, Mom! We'll be home as soon as possible, okay? Bye!" the girl shouted happily as she dashed out the door, shadowed by the anxious hanyou. 

~*~

     "Alright! We're here!" Souta yelled, launching himself out of the car as fast as possible. A finger snagging in his jacket hood put a stop to that plan. He turned around, rolling his eyes. He was supposed to meet his friend from school in the electronics store in a few minutes, but he'd never get there at this rate. 

     "One minute, Souta. I promise. Then you can go wherever you need to. I just want to figure out a meeting place for later. Inuyasha and I will go looking around, and get whatever we need. At about seven o'clock, we'll come find you and take you to pay for your stuff, okay?" she said, sounding very adult and responsible. Souta snorted and agreed quickly. 

     "You'll find me at the electronics store at seven. Good?" When his sister nodded, he rushed into the mall, quickly disappearing into the crowds milling about. 'That boy's up to something,' Kagome thought before turning to find Inuyasha glancing around, looking for a threat anywhere. 

     "Inuyasha? Hey, Inuyasha! Dog boy!" she shouted, trying to gain his attention. 

     "What do ya want _now_, woman?" he snapped. He was aggravated, finally realizing he'd been fooled. There wasn't any sign of danger anywhere around. 

     "You're lucky I won't S-I-T you here," she said, waving her finger reprovingly. "I was just going to ask where you wanted to go first."

     "How am I s'posed to know?" he said, digging his hands further into his jeans pockets. They weren't so bad. He was actually beginning to get used to them, like Kagome had said he would. 

     "Well, are you planning on buying presents for anyone?" she wheedled. He didn't necessarily have to, but it would be nice of him. 

     "Feh. I guess." Inuyasha said, not looking at her. 

     "Alright. I think we'll go look for something for Mom first, then," she said, already walking towards a shop with bright letters over the doorway and a picture of a jewel in the front window. 

     "Lead the way," he replied quietly, falling in step behind her.   
     "What do you want to get? Jewelry, maybe?" she looked over her shoulder at his sullen face. She suddenly felt bad about tricking him into coming. Even she could see his ears jerking around all over the place, though the hat did a pretty good job of hiding them. They entered the fancy jeweler's shop, earning a dirty look or two because of how they were dressed. Kagome was in jeans and a comfy, worn flannel shirt. Inuyasha wore a striped black t-shirt with a pair of blue jeans. Apparently, that wasn't good enough for these classy business people. But, money was money, right? And she bet they wouldn't turn down any customer will to pay the outrageous prices she saw on some of these rocks. 

     "Something she'll really like. Your mom's always nice to me," Kagome tuned back in just in time to catch the end of what Inuyasha was saying. She couldn't help the smile, he was actually trying to be thoughtful and nice tonight. 

     "Okay then. Here we've got necklaces and rings. My mom's birthstone is amethyst, so look for something you like with a purple stone." She pointed to the group of stones in different styles of settings within a glass case. 

     "Like this?" she looked over to find him pointing to a beautiful silver necklace with a princess-cut amethyst in the middle and a series of smaller diamonds on each side. Next to it was a silver ring with a stone cut in a similar shape with a smaller diamond at each corner.  

     "That's really pretty, Inuyasha. Do you want to get that one?" He shrugged in answer. Knowing him as Kagome did, that meant 'yes.'  

     "Then I think I'll get her the matching ring."  She said. It would be nice to give her mother the set. 

     "Wow!" she said with a gasp. 

     "What?" he asked, startled. He followed her finger to the little white paper tab attached. He couldn't read the small print, but knew it to be the price tag. 

     "They're so expensive…" she said, looking at the pair longingly. Inuyasha huffed. This girl could not make up her mind. Did she want them or not?

     "So?" 

     "I don't know how much I can spend." Kagome whispered, mindful of the peering salespeople watching their every move. Inside her pocket, she fingered her mother's credit card nervously. 

     "But if your mom really likes them, will she care how much they cost?" To Inuyasha, it was simple. Either pay the price and see Mrs. Higurashi very happy, or don't get them and search for hours trying to find something else. 

     "Hmm, good point. Let me just pay for these, and then we can start walking around." With that, Kagome signaled to the man behind the counter, and told him what she wanted. He placed them together in a box and then wrapped that in some sparkly, crinkly paper and a ribbon. Kagome handed over the card with a slight grimace on her face. But she looked much happier as they left the store, clinging tightly to the bag. 

     An hour passed as they visited shop after shop. Kagome had already picked out her gift to Inuyasha, so she was just shopping for Souta and Jii-chan. Inuyasha didn't miss the wistful look on her face as they passed a dress boutique that was even fancier than the jewelers. There was a white gown in the window that she obviously wanted, and he filed that bit of information away for later. They found two games Kagome knew her brother didn't have, one of which had a very large man on the front with bulging muscles and a rather large metal contraption in his hands. He found out later it was called a 'machine gun.' For Jii-chan, Inuyasha bought a new broom with soft bristles, so that when the old man tried to clobber him with it, it wouldn't hurt too much. Kagome got him a small fountain for his meditation room. Grandparents are so hard to shop for. 

     All too soon, seven o'clock came, and with it a trip to the electronics store. Souta stood at the entrance with a bright smile on his face. He was rocking back and forth on his heels, hands clasped behind his back. 

     "Kagome? My oh-so-loving sister?"

     "What is it, twerp?"

     "Ouch. You wound me. I was just gonna say that I know how to use Mom's credit card, so I thought you'd like to go sit in the car while Inuyasha comes with me," he said innocently.

     She looked at him suspiciously, but relented. "Alright, you remember where the car is?" He nodded and took off towards the far end of the mall. Inuyasha jogged after him and Kagome left to go find the car.

     First she turned up the radio. Then she began to tap her fingers on the steering wheel. Soon she was rifling through the glove compartment for any manga she might have left there. Finally her brother appeared around the back of the car followed by a grinning hanyou. After putting their bags in the trunk, they got in the car with identical looks of innocence. Kagome didn't believe it for a moment, but let it slide. She was a little worried about the amount of money they had spent tonight, and what her mother would do. 

     'It is such a pain to be right sometimes,' Kagome thought a while later. Her mother had forgotten to buy a new gallon of milk after Inuyasha finished the first one, so she had gone out. But along the way to the gas station to buy said milk, her mother had been sidetracked by a sales sign somewhere. Imagine her reaction when the cashier told her that her credit card wasn't working and probably had been maxed out. Mrs. Higurashi wasn't happy in the least, and came home and had a long discussion with Kagome and Souta about how much money was too much to pay for something. Kagome would be working for quite awhile to pay off what she owed. That is, if she could even find a job that let her disappear for weeks on end.

     Inuyasha was left out of it, seeing as how he hadn't been given the responsibility of the credit card. So he just sat there on the couch, smirking at Kagome behind her mother's back. 

     The corners of the girl's lips curled up at the thought of how she would be the one laughing tomorrow. She could just picture Inuyasha getting climbed on by all her little cousins when her father's parents brought them over in the morning. 

     **Phew. Another chappie, and it's not even six. You know what to do. Read and review.

Thankies lots to all who reviewed.

_The fifth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me_

_Five months of bills_

_Sending Christmas cards_

_Hangovers_

_Rigging up the lights_

_And finding a Christmas tree._


	6. Facing the inlaws

A/N: Hi people. This will probably be the last chapter of the night, just 'cause my mom is getting on my case about being up late while I'm sick. It's another longer one.

Disclaimer: Only the stuff that you don't recognize belongs to me. Not that there's much.

**The 12 Pains of Christmas**: chapter 6

     "Kagome!"

     "Kagome!"

     "'Gome!" 

     This was how Kagome entered the land of the waking the next morning. To a hyperactive six-year-old bouncing around her room, a shy five-year-old peeking out from behind her bedpost, and a drooling two-year-old laying on her chest. 

     "Riku, Kurai! You guys sure got here—" she was going to say early, but a look at the clock by her bed proved it was otherwise. The little red numbers read 11:27. "Hey, baby Ryo!" she finished, tickling the toddler into a fit of giggles. The other two siblings launched themselves at the bed, double-teaming her into submission. 

     "I give up, you guys are too good at this," she said with a smile, looking up at all three as they sat on her with identical grins. That was how Inuyasha found them a few moments later as he headed downstairs for some breakfast. 

     "Come on, squirts. Let's give Kagome some time to get dressed, okay?" he said, gently shooing them out into the hallway so she could change out of her pajamas. She was a little stunned. Inuyasha being considerate this early in the day? Unheard of. But then he looked back over his shoulder with a wicked grin. 'Oh no,' she thought, hurriedly pulling on a pair of jeans and a green sweater and running down the stairs. 'God only knows how much he's corrupted their little minds already.'

     'Too late.' Kagome stopped dead in the doorway to the kitchen. There at the table, sat two little figures each bent over inhaling instant ramen and one baby, happily flinging noodles everywhere. Inuyasha was attempting to show the smallest one the "proper" way to eat ramen and failing miserably. She wasn't even going to try and fix this disaster. Let the adults figure it out. Speaking of…

     "Inuyasha, where's my mom?" 

     "She and the old man are in the living room with the two other old people who dropped these pups off," he said with his usually lack of tact. Now that she listened, she could hear voices coming from behind the closed door. But she had no desire to go in; it was common knowledge that Mrs. Higurashi didn't always get along with her late husband's mother. 

     A happy screech called her attention back to what was happening in the kitchen. Apparently Ryo had just pulled off Inuyasha's hat, freeing his ears for all the children to see. They were twitching all over the place to avoid the three pairs of small hands. Each boy wanted to see if they were real, making a racket loud enough to alert the adults in the other room. The door swung open to reveal Jii-chan peering suspiciously with the other three looking over his shoulder. Luckily Inuyasha had had the common sense to quickly snap the baseball cap back on his head before the new people saw his ears. 

     Kagome's father's parents were older than Jii-chan, and just as set in the old ways. Nana Keiko had thinning gray hair pulled back into a severe bun above sharp blue eyes. She walked with a cane, but that didn't even slow her down. Grandpa Mahou was stern and tough on the outside, but was really as soft as a marshmallow once you got to know him. His shoulders stooped a bit, but he could keep up with the munchkins well enough. Riku, Kurai, and Ryo stayed with them for most of the year because their parents, her aunt and uncle, were overseas a lot of the time for business. They came home for holidays and birthdays, but other than that, seeing them was pretty rare. 

     "What's going on in here?" asked Nana Keiko.

     "Nothing, ma'am. The runts were just excited when Kagome said she'd take them to the park after lunch," Inuyasha cut in before Kagome could stutter out something. 'So that's what he was planning earlier,' she thought with a glare in the hanyou's direction. He only grinned triumphantly in reply. The kids cheered again, digging back into their lunch so that they could leave as soon as possible. The excuse seemed to please Nana, and the living room door swung shut again. 

     "You…you are so…" she was having trouble finding a word that wasn't inappropriate for little ears. 

     "Feh, it got them to leave didn't it?" he huffed, taking his seat again and beginning to wolf down the rest of his ramen.

     "Fine, get your coat." Kagome said, already walking to the hall to grab her own. Tossing the fork in the sink and the empty cup in the garbage, Inuyasha followed her. Their three shadows were right behind.  

     "Why?" 

     "Don't think you're getting out of this. You volunteered me, but I'm not leaving you here with my brother. Who knows what you two would plan while I was out," Kagome said, not looking at him as she tied her scarf and tugged on a hat.  

     "Why do you say that?" 

     "You actually thought that innocent act worked last night? I know the two of you are up to something,"

     "You're seeing things," poking her forehead with one pointy claw, he looked at her like she crazy. She swatted his hand away before answering. 

     "I don't think so."

     "Well, I know so." He was backing towards the staircase and his freedom. 

     "Inuyasha—" she was determined to get him to come, even if it meant sitting him and having all three kids get on his back. Kagome knew that he could easily throw them off, but even Inuyasha wouldn't hurt a group of kids.

     "Kagome, we wanna go to the park now!" Riku yelled, annoyed at being ignored for the past ten minutes. 

     "Yeah, 'Gome. Park!" Ryo scrunched up his face exactly like his brother. Kurai, the good child, was waiting quietly, already in his coat and scarf. Kagome shot the boy a smile before starting to bundle up the squirming Ryo. Riku zipped up his coat all by himself, but he couldn't stuff his hands into his mittens. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Inuyasha go over to help and knew she had won. He wouldn't leave her with all three of them no matter how annoying he found children. 

      The park was within walking distance, and Inuyasha went ahead to keep an eye on the older two. Kagome strolled along pulling the wagon that Ryo had insisted riding in and whistling Christmas songs to keep him happy. As soon as they got onto the grass, the little boy scrambled out to play with his big brothers. She pulled the wagon over near the swings and sat down, looking for Inuyasha. He hadn't been with Riku and Kurai. Suddenly the swing was pushed from behind, and she screamed. 

     "Inuyasha, you startled me!" she said, leaning back to look at him upside down. He nudged her again, this time the swing went a little higher. 

     "I didn't mean to. Just thought you'd like a push," he said, his eyes on the boys a little ways away. 

     "Thank you. This is very nice," she commented. Looking up, she saw that the sky was filling with heavy gray clouds. 'There might be snow again tonight,' she thought happily. 

     "What is?" he asked softly, not wanting to wake from whatever dream he had fallen into. It had to be a dream because everything was too perfect for it not to be. 'Oi, I'm even starting to think like a sap,' he was almost too busy mentally berated himself to hear her response. 

     "This. You being here for Christmas. Everything," she said with her eyes closed as the swing went back and forth. His warm hands pressed against her back again, sending her even higher. She didn't see the little blush that stained his cheeks. 

     He was saved from having to reply by a shout from near the jungle gym. Kagome jumped from the swing and hit the ground running, Inuyasha not far behind. They found Kurai sitting on the grass with a hand to his head. Pulling it away, Kagome found a spot of blood, but deemed it nothing serious. He'd just have one heck of a goose egg in the morning. 

     Inuyasha was busy asking Riku what happened.

     "I dunno. We were playing on the monkey bars. He musta slipped or somethin'," the boy said, peeking over the hanyou's shoulder to see if his brother was okay.

     "What do you guys say we head home now? I want to tell Nana Keiko that Kurai fell and maybe get some ice on it," Kagome asked the boys. 

     They didn't look very happy, but they agreed anyway. The walk home was silent except for the creaking of wagon wheels and the shuffling of little feet. When the front door closed, four worried adults met the group. 

     "Why are you back so early? Did something happen?" Nana Keiko asked, checking over her precious grandchildren. 

     "Kurai had a little accident. He fell off the monkey bars, but it's not too bad," Kagome said as Kurai was ushered into the kitchen where he was given an ice pack and told to hold it to his bump.

     "We'll be leaving soon, Ami. We had thought to stay for dinner, but with this, I'd like to get home quickly," the old woman said politely, and at the same time, accusingly. 

     "Now, Keiko, that's not very fair. It wasn't Kagome's fault," Mrs. Higurashi started, only to be interrupted. 

     "And I didn't say it was," Keiko looked insulted that her daughter-in-law could think such a thing. 

     Only Inuyasha heard Mrs. Higurashi's mumbled reply, "But you certainly implied it." Louder, she said tightly, "Well, I won't stop you if you wish to leave. Come by again soon and we'll have dinner." 

     Hugs and goodbyes were exchanged as they put on their coats and gathered their things. As soon as the door shut, Kagome's mother slumped onto the couch. 

     "I swear, that woman is a witch sent to earth to feed off people's pain and suffering," she sighed. And then, realizing what she had just said in the presence of her daughter, she made to take it back.

     "It's alright, Mom. I know what Nana Keiko's like. You don't have to apologize," Kagome said, curling up on the cushion next to her. 

     "Good, then I don't have to pretend to like having her over anymore," Mrs. Higurashi said with a grin. Her daughter just poked her in reprimand before laughing quietly. Then, realizing how quiet it was, they both looked around. Souta and Inuyasha had disappeared again, presumably upstairs. Kagome just shrugged and made her way to the calendar in the kitchen. 'Less than a week till Christmas. Time really _does_ fly when you're having fun,' she thought, crossing off another box. 

     **Man, my brain is fried. I'll be writing more tomorrow. Probably. 

     Please read and review. And happy holidays to everyone. 

     Thankies lots to all my great reviewers. 

_The sixth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me_

_Facing my in-laws_

_Five months of bills_

_Oh I hate those Christmas cards_

_Hangovers_

_Rigging up these lights_

_And finding a Christmas tree._


	7. Charities

A/N: Back again. Aiming for 2 chappies today again. I know everyone's getting busy, including me, so I don't think all of them will be out by Christmas. S'ok, though.

Disclaimer: Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. None of this chapter belongs to me. 

**The 12 Pains of Christmas**: chapter 7

     The doorbell rang for the eighth time that morning. Kagome rolled onto her stomach, pulling a pillow over her head. All she wanted was some sleep. Was that too much to ask these people? She expected her mom or brother to answer the door, so she hadn't bothered to get up.

     Then, from downstairs, she faintly heard Inuyasha yelling for her. She sighed and rolled back over, not anticipating the edge of the bed to be so near. With a thump she landed on the floor, severely tangled in her downy comforter. The darn bell rang again, accompanied by the hanyou's voice calling her name loudly and the sound of someone coming up the stairs. She didn't feel the urge to move anymore, so she stayed lost in the sea of blankets on the floor. 

     "Kago—What are you doing?" Inuyasha was a little startled seeing the bundle of sheets lying unmoving on the carpet. One little foot stuck out, but it was quickly pulled back into the warmth of the blankets. He reached in; fishing around a little bit before he found the limb again. Kagome felt a hand wrap around her ankle a moment before she was yanked from her cocoon. Met with Inuyasha's face so close to her own, she just made a face at him before awkwardly clambering to her feet. 

     "There's a bunch of people waiting outside, in case you didn't hear," he said, slowly rising from his crouch. 

     "I heard. But where's my mom? Couldn't you get her to answer it?" she whined. The bed was looking very enticing at that moment, and she was sorely tempted just to collapse onto it and sleep for a few more hours.

     "Your mom went out with Souta and the old man a while ago. She told me to let you sleep," Inuyasha said, tugging on her arm and trying to lead her to the annoying doorbell. 

     "Where'd they go?"

     "She said somethin' about taking the runt to the dok-ter's," he answered, looking very proud of himself for saying the new word right. 

     "Oh, that's right! Well, I guess I better go answer the door now," she said, looking down at her rumpled pajamas and bare feet. "Or maybe I should get changed first," she closed her bedroom door and threw on some black pants and a red shirt with long, belled sleeves. She ran a brush through her hair as she rushed downstairs. The doorbell rang again impatiently, and she heard muffled voices coming from outside. 

     When she opened the door, she found several people dressed in long coats with hats and gloves. One man stepped forward.

     "Season's greetings, miss. We represent the local homeless shelter. We are collecting clothing and donations for the needy of the city during this time of giving. Any amount is appreciated—" It sounded like a very practiced speech to Kagome, and she really didn't have anything for them.

     "I'm sorry, my mother is not home right now. I can't give you anything, but I do send my well wishes and prayers. Thank you for coming," she said, beginning to close the door. 

     "That's okay. Goodbye and happy holidays!" the group of them turned around and walked down the drive, on their way to the next house. Inuyasha came up behind her and shut the door before asking her who those people were.

     "About this time of year, lots of charities send people to go around from house to house to ask for donations. They're actually pretty late this year," she commented. The hanyou still looked a little confused, but he didn't say anything. Kagome lead him back into the living room and plopped onto the couch. Remote in hand, she flipped channels for a little while before finding one she liked. That was how the two of them spent the rest of the morning. 

     That is, until Inuyasha's stomach signaled it was time for lunch. Kagome got up, laughing, to go make some ramen for him. The blush that painted his cheeks didn't go away until after the steaming bowl was in his lap and half empty. When she came back again, she had a tall glass of milk and a peanut butter sandwich for herself. Just as she was about to sit down, the doorbell rang again. 

    On her front stoop stood a man and about eight little boys ranging from five to ten. One of the older ones stepped for forward. It was then she noticed the little gold emblems on their scarves and knew they were Boy Scouts.

     "Hello. This year we're s'posed to collect food for everybody who can't afford to have his or her own holiday celebrations. If you can just put some non-perishable foods in this bag, we'll be back on the 24th to collect it. Thanks a lot, lady!" he called, leaving a plastic bag in her hands as the troop of them walked away. Kagome couldn't help smiling. Little kids were so cute! She hung the bag on the coat rack in the hall so she wouldn't forget, and then went back to her lunch. 

     After finishing the sandwich, Kagome left Inuyasha watching T.V. so that she could wrap her presents in her room. She had just finished tying the ribbon on the present for her mother when the doorbell rang again. Going to answer it, she saw it was too late to stop Inuyasha from opening the door, scowling something fierce. He ripped the door open, growling as he saw there were more charity workers on the other side.

    "What do ya people want now?!" he snapped. Even from the top of the stairs, Kagome could see the shocked faces of the people outside. It was a bunch of adults, probably from the Salvation Army or something. Wincing, she watched as the hanyou told them to get lost. 

     "A-Alright, then. G-Good day and happy holidays to you, sir," one stuttered out as the rest fled down the steps. Inuyasha was being down right rude, but she wasn't going to stop him if it meant she didn't have to disconnect the doorbell. There was only so much well wishing a girl could take. Hoping that there'd be no more interruptions, Kagome headed back to her room to finish wrapping. Inuyasha found her writing out the last card for the last present some time later. 

     "Your mom's home now. She wants to talk to us," he said, leaning on her doorjamb with his arms and ankles crossed. 'I didn't hear the doorbell this time,' she thought. 'He must have gotten sick of it.'

     "Okay." They went downstairs and as they passed the hall, she looked and sure enough, the doorbell cable was cut. She giggled and then sat in front of her mother at the kitchen table. 

     "Kagome, there's been an accident. Your grandmother's in the hospital." Her mother said bluntly. 

    "Oh, God! What happened?" worry colored Kagome's voice. She started thinking of all sorts of things that could have happened. A broken hip, a fractured wrist, a concussion… 

    "Nothing too bad. She slipped on a patch of ice and hit her head. The doctors say she'll be fine, but they want to keep her for a few days for observation because of her age. And since Mahou can't look after the kids by himself, they're coming to stay until she's released," she answered and Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. 

     "Really? That'll be fun. Not for Nana Keiko, but for the kids, I mean—" Kagome rambled, excited that her three favorite cousins were coming over after they had left so suddenly yesterday. 

     "Feh. So we get to watch the runts for a few more days?" Inuyasha cut her off. He didn't sound all that pleased, but that was to be expected. Children were not his thing. 

     "Yep. They'll be here later tonight when Kagome's grandfather drops them off." Mrs. Higurashi replied. 'This will be just great,' Inuyasha thought. 'Another couple of days with three rambunctious pups climbing all over the place.'

     **I had to get the kids back for the next chappie. I should have that one out tonight, too. Merry Christmas Eve, if you celebrate it. Happy holidays to everyone else. 

 Thankies to all who reviewed. 

The seventh thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me 

_The Salvation Army_

_Facing my in-laws_

_Five months of bills_

_Sending Christmas cards_

_Oh gees _

_I' m trying to rig up these lights_

_And finding a Christmas tree._


	8. I want a transformer for Christmas!

A/N: Hi! You all are making me so happy. Never have I had so many reviews for one story! I feel like a kid on Christmas. 

Disclaimer: ::sigh:: Can't take credit for anything except Riku, Kurai, and Ryo. (I do so want to, though!)

**The 12 Pains of Christmas**: chapter 8

     "Inuyasha!"

     "Inuyasha!"

     "'Yasa!"

     Faintly reminiscent of the other day, that was how Inuyasha woke up in the morning. Three little boys, each in their dinosaur footy pajamas, were all bouncing on his bed. He had been bunking in Souta's room, and looking over, he saw that his partner in crime was suspiciously absent. Sure enough, muffled giggles were heard from the hallway. The runt had set these little monsters on him! He brushed them off his chest and sat up, growling loudly. 

     "Oooooh! Silly puppy!" cried the littlest one. He couldn't quite remember its name. 

     "I am _not_ a silly puppy!" he said indignantly. Then the oldest one stopped bouncing for a second to tug on his ears. The growl doubled in intensity. Luckily the twerp chose that moment to come back in, worried for his cousins' safety. 

     "They're just children, don't kill them—" Souta stopped himself when he spotted Inuyasha just standing there while all three climbed on him. Ryo sat on the hanyou's shoulders, shrieking happily while tugging on his ears. Only an occasional wince escaped. Riku was laughing while swinging back and forth on one arm, and Kurai was wrapped around one of his ankles, contentedly sucking his thumb. Souta wiped imaginary sweat from his brow with an overly dramatic sigh of relief. 

     "You had me worried for a moment there, Inuyasha," he said accusingly.

     "Feh. Like I'd actually hurt the rascals," Inuyasha answered, trudging towards the door and breakfast. 

     The laughter of three young children passing her door woke Kagome. She let out a yawn and slid out of bed, heading for the bathroom. Mom wouldn't let Inuyasha do anything to her cousins, so it was safe to stay up here another half an hour to shower and dress. A nice hot shower was sounding real nice right now. 

     Downstairs, Inuyasha was sitting at the table, a pup on either side, stuffing his face with ramen. Of course, the little ones were copying exactly what he did, and every time Mrs. Higurashi tried to take away their bowls, they howled till they got them back. Souta just sat watching with a smile on his face, a spoonful of cereal halfway to his mouth. 

     That was how Kagome found them a while later. Her mother was attempting to take away the almost-empty bowls from in front of Riku and Kurai while they screamed and whined. Souta still had the same spoonful of cornflakes midway from his bowl to his mouth, and Inuyasha was completely oblivious to it all as he finished his third helping of ramen. Oh what fun these next few days would be. 

     "Good morning!" she called loudly, earning everyone's attention. They all paused for a second and chorused a "morning", and then went right back to whatever they were doing. Totally ignored, Kagome walked over to the refrigerator, avoiding all the tiny toys on the floor and the splatters of broth everywhere. She pulled out a pair of waffles from the freezer and some vanilla ice cream to put on top. She stood leaning on the counter as she ate her breakfast, observing her wacky family. 

     Her little cousins finally relinquished their empty bowls ten minutes later. With nothing left, they really had no reason to cry as Mrs. Higurashi placed their bowls in the sink. The two of them pouted for a bit, then scrambled off their chairs and headed for Souta's room and all his videogames. Souta quickly followed them. Ryo had been happy slapping his hands onto the shelf of his high chair, spitting ramen all over himself. But he, too, didn't fuss as her mother pulled him from the chair to give him a bath. Inuyasha had finished long ago and was now lounging in his chair, rubbing his full stomach. He looked at her with a strange look in his eyes.

     "Is your family always like that?" he asked, finally looking away from her in favor of the door where all her family had vanished through. 

     "No. I think you've had a bad influence on them, Inuyasha." His head whipped back to her with an innocent expression. 

     "Who? Me?" She couldn't help laughing. 

     "Yes, you," she managed to answer through her giggles. She got a sudden inspiration, "What do you say we go downtown later?" 

     "'Downtown?'" he repeated, cocking his head questioningly. 

     "It's a part of the city with lots of little shops and stuff. It's a nice place to visit this time of year. All the trees are lit up and there are decorations everywhere. The big tree in the middle of it all is amazing and I've been meaning to go see it," she answered. 

     "Feh. Will we have to take the pups?" he had the strangest urge to leave them here and go see this place with Kagome only. 

     "I would think so. Mom can't watch them all by herself," Kagome answered, not catching his disappointed frown before it was quickly banished from his face.

     "Fine," he sighed. She bounced on her heels for a moment before leaving him alone in the kitchen, going to tell the pups. 

~*~

     "Hey, Riku. What do want Santa to leave for you this year?" Kagome asked a little while later, pushing Ryo in his stroller. They were walking down the sidewalk on their way to the center of town to see the tree. There had been only one incident while getting the kids dressed to walk outside in twenty-degree weather.

**~Flashback~**

     Kagome had just finished tying Kurai's scarf and zipping his jacket. She was bending over to help Riku tug on his boots, when Kurai had leant over and whispered in her ear, "Kagome I hafta go to the bathroom!" 

     It had been a minor miracle that they stripped him of his winter stuff in enough time for him to still make it to the bathroom. Little boys had infamously small bladders. It had stalled their walk for a bit, but not long. When he was done, Kagome started the whole process of winterizing him all over again. Soon they were on their way. 

**~Flashback~**

     "I want a Beast Wars transformer for Christmas! And some candy. Not the yucky stuff with the nuts, but bubblegum and chocolate," he said, launching into a long list of things that would have bought out a whole toy store. She nodded whenever he looked over at her, not really paying attention. She'd have to get Inuyasha to watch the three of them for a little while so she could stop somewhere and get them all something little. Previously, she hadn't expected to see them for Christmas, so she didn't have anything. 

      When he finally finished with "some packs of Yu-Gi-Oh cards," she asked Kurai the same question. It was fishing for ideas, she knew, but they were little and didn't understand that was what she was doing. So it was justified in her mind. 

     "I just want to see Mommy and Daddy. They always bring cool stuff for us from wherever they go," he said, and Kagome was really impressed. His brother wanted just about every toy available, and yet, all he wanted was to see his parents. But that wouldn't help her with shopping. 

     "Are you sure there's absolutely nothing else you want this year?" The little boy was about to shake his head when suddenly he paused and his face brightened.

     "Snow! I want it to snow on Christmas! Oh, and a new copy of The Cat in the Hat. I've read mine to Ryo so many times it's starting to come apart," he looked so proud of himself for remembering. She smiled down at him and made a mental note. Just then, Ryo started bouncing in his seat, pointing and gurgling. They had reached the big tree. Kagome looked over at Inuyasha. The look on his face was absolutely priceless. His jaw was slack and his eyes wide as he looked at the giant tree decorated with all sorts of ornaments. There were fancy jewel-bedecked pieces alongside ratty thirty-year old nutcrackers. Hundreds of lights blazed from angel to trunk and huge empty boxes wrapped like presents wreathed the ground around it. It truly was a beautiful sight.

     Inuyasha couldn't believe his eyes. That tree had to be taller than most of the ones in his forest. And it was even more glitzy and sparkly than Kagome's. He stared so hard that when he looked away, a purple after-image remained imprinted in his vision. Around their feet, Riku and Kurai skipped and jumped. They were just happy to see the big tree. They didn't care if they walked downtown or not. But Kagome had to get their presents.

     Eventually Kagome was able to lead the boys away from their spot on the corner. They talked about nothing important for a while, and she surreptitiously peered into shop windows, looking for any advertisement of books and transformers. She was about to give up when she spotted something in the last store on their side of the street. 

     "Inuyasha, I just need to stop in here for a moment. Don't lose them," she warned, pointing to the happy little munchkins dancing around him. 

     "Feh. More shopping, woman?" he snapped. He wasn't too happy about being stuck with all three pups until she came back. That look was coming back in her eyes. He had refrained from calling her 'wench,' but it wasn't much of an improvement. 

     'Dog-boy is lucky I won't sit him here, in front of all these people,' Kagome thought, turning her back on a shocked hanyou and heading through the sliding doors into the warmth of the little shop. She picked a transformer toy from the row of different models, and then went in search of The Cat in the Hat. After finding it, made her way back to the cashier. The elderly man rang it up with a cheerful smile. 

     "Thank you for coming, miss. And happy holidays to you!" he called as she left.

     "Same to you!" she replied before making her way back to Inuyasha, who was once again being used as a jungle gym for her cousins. 

     "Alright, everyone. You ready to head home?" she asked, lifting Riku off Inuyasha's head ('I wonder how he got up there. I swear he's a monkey,') and tugging Kurai off his leg. 

     Then they began the walk home, Inuyasha pushing the stroller with one hand and holding Riku's little hand in the other. Kagome was carrying Kurai and holding Riku's other hand. All of them, very content to appear a family to all they passed. 

     **I tried to get this out last night for everyone, but my computer was being stupid. There might be another chapter late tonight, but don't count on it. 

Thankies to all my great reviewers. I'll start writing comments again next time. 

The eighth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me 

_I want a transformer for Christmas!_

_Charities, and what do you mean your in-laws?_

_Five months of bills_

_Oh, making out these cards_

_Oh, Edith, get me a beer, huh?_

_What? We have no extension cords?_

_And finding a Christmas tree._


	9. Finding parking spaces

A/N: Merry Christmas! Sorry bout not getting it up sooner, I was hooked on my new DDR.

Disclaimer: Turns out, they weren't waiting under the tree. So I guess they ain't mine. 

**The 12 Pains of Christmas**: chapter 9

      "Look Kagome! Ice-skating! Can we go? Can we? Please!" Riku cried the moment he spotted the outdoor rink. They were about a four blocks from Kagome's house. His whole face lit up and he started bouncing up and down with his hands clasped under his chin. 

     "We have to get home now, Riku. But I promise we can come back when your Auntie Ami says so. Okay?" she asked the little boy. He looked down and scuffed his shoe on the pavement. 

     "Okay, I guess," he sounded so sad. But they were expected home, so she couldn't just say yes. 

     "You know what? I don't think Auntie Ami has gone ice-skating in a long time. I'm sure she'll say yes," she said, trying to make him feel better. Anything to bring that smile back to his face. He looked a bit happier.

     When Inuyasha opened the front door, Mrs. Higurashi was there waiting. 

     "Wait! Don't take off your coats yet, little ones," she said to Riku and Kurai, who were already wiggling out of their snowsuits. "I thought we might go ice-skating down at the rink. How about that?" she asked, thoroughly oblivious to her daughter's shock. How had her mother known exactly what they were going to ask? Must be a mom thing, she figured. 

     "Souta!" Kagome called up the stairs. "We're going ice-skating. Hurry up and get ready!" He wasn't going to sit home this time. Meanwhile, her mother had gone to find Jii-chan.

     "Father, would you like to go with us to the skating rink?" she asked the meditating man. He was sitting perfectly still with his eyes closed, and she stood there, waiting for an answer. It came in the form of a particularly loud snore.

     Souta, who was passing the door at the moment, suddenly tripped and landed face-first on the floor. Rubbing the back of his neck, he stood with a roll of his eyes. 

     "Leave it to Jii-chan to fall asleep during his 'meditation,'" he whispered so that his mother wouldn't hear, already walking to the living room to get his coat and hat. 

     With a nervous laugh, Mrs. Higurashi reappeared in the doorway.

     "Guess Grandpa won't be joining us. How about we take the car so the kids don't have to walk all that way again?" she asked, more to Inuyasha and Kagome than the others. Inuyasha shrugged, still not fond of the large boxy thing that moved. 

     "Okay, Mom," Kagome answered, ushering the youngest three out the door and to the van waiting in the driveway. She secured Ryo in his car seat and Riku and Kurai buckled themselves into their booster seats. By the time she climbed into the back, her mother was starting the car and Souta had clambered into the front seat, grinning widely at her. Then she realized whom that left her sitting next to. 

     'That little brat! He did it on purpose,' she thought, looking over at Inuyasha as he fumbled with the seat belt beside her. The frustrated look on his face made him look absolutely adorable. 'Wait a minute—adorable?! Since when have I thought of him like that?'

     Inuyasha was watching the emotions play across Kagome's face. There was something he couldn't name behind that anger and embarrassment. Was she embarrassed to sit next to him? She seemed deep in thought, not even noticing when he waved a hand in front of her face or poked her shoulder. He was so busy trying to get her attention he didn't even notice the car start or the ride to the rink. It was Mrs. Higurashi's shout of "Who's up for some ice-skating?" that finally woke her up. 

     They were in the parking lot, driving in circles as she looked for an open spot. But there didn't appear to be any. It seemed everyone had had the idea to come ice-skating today. Kagome's mother continued to circle, now starting to growl. They must have ranked up five miles before Souta finally observed an old man with his granddaughter heading towards their car. Just as the car began to swing into the opening, a flashy little sports cars whipped by and took it. Mrs. Higurashi had to slam on the brakes in order to not slam into its rear bumper. Several curses escaped her mouth, and the pups began to gleefully repeat them loudly. 

     "No, no! That's bad! Good little children don't say those words," Souta scolded, turning around to wave his finger at them reprovingly. Three identical lips curled and three pairs of eyes began to water.

     "But Auntie Ami did!" cried Riku. Souta sighed, and his mother, Inuyasha, and Kagome all looked on in interest.

     "That's different. She's an adult. You're kids. Kids don't use words like that. Okay?" Kagome was impressed. Souta sounded really grown-up right then. Riku and Kurai nodded tearfully, while Ryo looked back and forth from his brothers to his cousin. He seemed to understand though, and kept quiet until they found a place to park. 

     Inuyasha let Kagome get out before him, following her lead on where to go and what to do. Her mother paid a man for these little stubs of paper, and she passed one out to everyone, including little Ryo. The hanyou stared at it, turning it upside down and reverse side up before Kagome yanked him in the direction of a large wooden booth. There another man behind the counter asked him, "What size?" Inuyasha stared confused for a moment, prompting the girl at his side to pipe up for him. 

     "He'll take an eight mens, please." She handed the man the stub and he disappeared behind a rack of funny-looking shoes. He returned with a pair of red and black ones with what looked like sharp blades strapped to the bottom. 

     Kagome led him over to a bench alongside the rink and showed him to tie the laces on the skates. He had to be careful because his claws kept snagging on the string. When he finally finished, he tried to stand. Suddenly he was looking up at Kagome as she laughed. He had fallen flat on his butt in the thin layer of fluffy snow. God, he was blushing more this week he had spent with Kagome and her family than in his entire life put together. 

     Trying to muffle her giggles, Kagome took his hand and helped him stand on wobbly feet. Soon his natural sense of balance kicked in and he was able to walk just fine. Of course, that was only until he came to the edge of the ice. As soon as his skate hit the ice, it slipped out from under him again. This time he lay flat on his back, looking up into the gray sky and the faces of Kagome and her brother. 

     "And I thought you were a half-demon, Inuyasha," Souta said, easily sliding out of the hanyou's reach when he tried to hit him over the head. Inuyasha could only watch as the boy sped off to circle the rink with grace and ease.

     'Damnit! Why can't I do this? Work legs, work!' he mentally screamed. He tried again to stand up, this time finding it much easier. Kagome circled him once before stopping in front of him and holding out her hands.

     "Do you trust me?" she asked, and he just stood there for a second, completely lost. Where had that come from? She repeated her question, and this time she grabbed hold of his hands. 

     "Feh. Of course," he replied automatically. What, did she think he let just anyone fight alongside him and protect the jewel shards…among other things? 

     Her smile brightened and she began to gently tug him forwards. The look of momentary panic on his face made her hesitate for the shortest of seconds. But then he began to understand. He looked so sexy as he grinned and glanced at her from beneath his bangs. 'There I go again. Bad subconscious!' she thought, never faltering. Soon he was pushing off on his own, breaking her hold on his hands to use them for balance. 

     Kagoem watched as he began to get braver, moving farther away from both her and the edge. After a while, he was racing Souta around and around the rink. Kagome was content to go slowly, watching everybody skate after her mother dropped the little ones in a group lesson. It was a very peaceful afternoon. 

     After he was tired of playing with the runt, Inuyasha made his way back to Kagome. She was skating with her eyes closed; not realizing her was sneaking up on her. But when her skates left the ice, her eyes snapped open with a shriek. The first thing she noticed was that she was upside down and the ground was far away. Then, she felt the hard shoulder pressing into her stomach and the warms arm looped over her hips. And finally, the silver hair that was tickling her nose.

     "Inuyasha! Sit!" she yelled, not fully realizing what would happen if she sat him while he held her. They crashed towards the ground, somehow twisting so that Inuyasha took the brunt of the fall. Kagome sprawled across his back, rubbing her abused rear while a man in a black and white shirt skated over.

     "You two alright? Let me help you up, sir," he offered, reaching for Inuyasha's arm. When the body attached didn't budge, he tugged harder. The spell chose to wear off at precisely that moment, sending the referee flying backwards. Inuyasha windmilled his arms, trying not to topple over again. Kagome just watched from her seat on the ice, coughing to conceal the laughter. 

     "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. It was just automatic reaction when you scared me," the hanyou was already reaching out to help her up, forgetting all about the other guy who was buried headfirst in a snowdrift. 

     "Feh, it didn't hurt, so stop apologizin' already," he said, trying to sound tough when Kagome knew it really had hurt. Her bruised bottom was evidence of that. But she just smiled and let him pull her over to where her mom was waiting, Ryo asleep in her arms. 'Poor pup must be tuckered out.' Then she realized what she had just thought. 'Now I'm even starting to think like him! Argh!'

     ** Done. I had tried to get this whole story done by today, but 9 out of 13 chappies ain't bad.  It's passed one AM now, so I'm definitely done. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. 

Thankies lots to: 

**Demongirl6381, kittykathy, InuLover12, Lei Xang, Defafaeth Mechqua, Xxspit-firexX, The Turmoil Twins, LadyKNightAlanna**, Akako the panther hanyu, sashlea, **xo-Kagome-ox, Shinigami-Sama1**, and inukid.

Going in backwards order from chappie 8 to 5:

**Demongirl6381:** I worked my butt of trying to finish it by today. But I'll keep posting a couple chapters a day and it'll be done tomorrow or the next day.

**kittykathy:** Same to you!

**InuLover12: **I'm surprised you could drag yourself away from Johnny long enough to even write such a short review. I certainly wouldn't have been able to…

**The Turmoil Twins:** I can't just leave it. I got the inspiration for this chappie right as I was heading to bed. Merry Christmas to you too!

sashlea: I'm sorry it was raining wherever you are, but I'm glad my fic makes it better. I hope your holidays were better. 

**The Turmoil Twins:** I based the in-laws after my step-dad's parents. His mother's just plain bitchy a lot of the time, but his father's really a great guy. 

**xo-Kagome-ox:** I actually have no idea what they're up to. It was just a plot thingy I added, but I haven't fleshed it out yet.

The ninth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me 

_Finding parking spaces_

_Daddy, I want some candy!_

_Donations_

_Facing my in-laws_

_Five months of bills_

_Writing out those Christmas cards_

_Hangovers_

_Now why the hell are they blinking?!_

_And finding a Christmas tree._


	10. Batteries not included

A/N: Hi everyone! I'm kinda shifting the days for the story, so the ice -skating was on Christmas Eve and this one leads into Christmas day. It'll fit better with the 'Batteries no included' thing. 

Disclaimer: While I may now own a DDR and a bonsai tree, I sadly do not own these characters.

The 12 Pains of Christmas: chapter 10 

     It was definitely a trial trying to get Kagome's cousins to sleep that night. Cookies were left beside a glass of milk for Santa, and their stockings hung cheerfully over the fireplace. Kagome was put in charge of staying up late to discourage any peeping eyes. Riku desperately wanted a glimpse of Santa, and Kurai would just as soon follow him as tell him not to. 

     So Kagome was cuddled up on the big squishy armchair in front of the fire with a textbook spread over her lap. Even tonight she would have to study just so she wouldn't fall even more behind in school. Evil teachers assigned homework and scheduled tests for the Thursday and Friday they came back. She couldn't wait to try and explain to Inuyasha that she couldn't go back to the Feudal Era right away because of these tests. He'd want her to ignore them and come anyway. But exams didn't just go away if you ignored them long enough. 

     Speaking of Inuyasha, he was lounging on the couch next to her, dozing if his closed eyes were any sign. His chin was resting on his palm, and every so often, his head would begin to tip forwards before he jerked it back. His eyelids would flutter, and occasionally he would utter something incoherently, but then he'd be right back off to dreamland. 

     Kagome was pretty much oblivious to him as she tried to cram, but it was very hard to study something you never learned in the first place. With a sigh she rubbed her temples and looked up just in time to see two little shadows creeping down the stairs. 

     "Hey, you two. Back to bed, Santa won't come if you're not asleep," she hissed only loud enough for them to hear. Now that she saw Inuyasha, she didn't want to wake him. 

     Too late. She saw his ears twitch in her direction a second before his eyes snapped open. Any sign of fatigue was instantly gone as he peered from her to the railing, where two little faces looked pleadingly at their cousin Kagome. 

     "But, Kagome, you and him are still awake. Does that mean Santa won't come?" Riku asked innocently. The pout on his little face was enough to melt her.

     "No, it doesn't. We'll be going to bed as soon as you guys go back in your room and stay there," she promised, hoping to get them to finally go to sleep. Then she'd be able to get some much-needed rest before tackling Christmas morning. Kagome could just picture paper flying everywhere and little toys getting lost in the sea, with three very excited boys right in the middle of it. She had probably been just as joyful as a kid, but that was before she had learned that sleep was a very good thing. 

     "Okay," they sighed dejectedly in unison. Four tiny feet began trudging slowly back up the steps and a couple minutes later the quiet shutting of a door was heard downstairs. Inuyasha signaled that they had stopped moving and they were starting to fall asleep. Sometimes heightened senses were a good thing. Kagome got to her feet and packed up her textbooks, walking up to her room. Inuyasha followed, but went on to Souta's bedroom while she stopped at her mother's doorway.

     "All clear. The munchkins are sound asleep," she whispered into the darkness where she knew her mother was waiting. The bedside light clicked on, illuminating the piles upon piles of gifts wrapped and ready to be put under the tree. Mrs. Higurashi was sitting in the middle of it, looking at her daughter pleadingly. Kagome sighed and helped shift the stacks downstairs, wishing all the while that Inuyasha hadn't gone to bed yet. Some of this stuff was really heavy.

~*~

     The next morning, it was eerily quiet when Kagome woke up. Blinking at the digital numbers on her clock, she saw it was almost eight o'clock. Why didn't she hear anything from downstairs? She was sure the boys would be all over their presents by now. Still in her flannel pajamas, she crept to the landing of the stairs. From there she saw everyone but Mrs. Higurashi and herself sitting on the couch twiddling their thumbs. Could it be that Inuyasha and Souta had managed to convince the kids to wait for them?

     "Can we go wake her up _now?_" Riku said, bouncing up and down on the couch seat. Kurai was barely restraining himself from doing the same thing. Little Ryo slumped over the arm of the sofa, waiting with a big smile on his face. He clapped his hands in the adorable way only little kids can accomplish before squirming off the edge onto the floor. Souta swiped him up before he could make it to the stairs.

     "No, no, Ryo. You have to wait a little bit. You can all go up in about five minutes, okay?" he said, more to the older two than the baby in his hands. 

     "Yeah, I guess," Kagome heard a small voice reply as she snuck back up to her room. If they were planning what she thought they were planning, the pups would be invading her room in a matter of moments. She quickly stepped into some jeans and shrugged on an old gray sweater before sliding under her covers again. 

     Sure enough, she had barely closed her eyes when the door swung open silently. She heard the pitter patter of six tiny feet before a sudden weight landed on her chest. Hoping to surprise them, she sat up and caught the next flying body before it could hit the bed. Kagome found herself looking at Kurai's shocked face as he hung about half a foot in the air. Oblivious to it all, Ryo scrambled up to, plopping his twenty-four pound self on one of her knees. 

     She grimaced before looking up at her doorway. There stood a grinning Inuyasha and a beaming Souta. Her mother stood slightly behind them, having just woken up. The woman clenched her robe tighter and made her way downstairs for presents. Riku, Kurai, and Ryo all got up and followed her like baby ducks, leaving Kagome to stare after them. Then she kicked off her comforter and went downstairs too. 

     Brightly wrapped presents covered just about every open inch of floor space. The tree was surrounded by a wall of gifts easily two feet high. Kagome waded through the sea to find the armchair. She knew it was around here somewhere…'Ah! There it is!' she thought, sitting down. 

     From there she watched as the boys descended on their piles like ravenous beasts. Ribbons and scraps were thrown everywhere. As things were revealed, short "oohs" and "aahs" were shared, but they were hurriedly thrown aside in favor of unwrapping more. Random flashes blinked as Mrs. Higurashi went around snapping pictures of the boys with various presents. Panting, the boys came to the end of their gifts. Now they could scrutinize and poke at all of them. Everyone else took this time to open their own piles of gifts. 

     Before she opened her own, Kagome watched as Inuyasha found her gift to him. She watched as he withdrew a delicate silver chain with a locket on the end. It wasn't all that feminine, but still beautiful. She had had to make sure that the metal would hold up under serious strain because she wanted him to be able to wear it, even in battle. Right now both sides were empty so he could choose what pictures to put in it, and she hoped that eventually it would be her portrait inside. 

     He seemed to like it. Then Kagome watched as he opened his gift from Souta. Inside laid a pair of fluffy earmuffs. 'I'm going to kill the little brat!' she thought, glaring at said brat. 

     When she finally turned to her own presents, Kagome found: some new clothes from her mother, a slightly chewed stuffed-animal from Ryo, and some shiny new trading cards from his brothers. 'Guess these are the ones they could bear to part with,' she thought, studying the ten Pokemon cards in her hand. She looked around for her gifts from Inuyasha and Souta, but didn't find anything. 

     Suddenly a box appeared in front her nose, held by a nervous Inuyasha. Kagome smiled brightly at him, taking the large-ish box from his shaking hand. She unwrapped it slowly, pulling away ribbon and bow, until she came to a white box with a store name printed on the front. Why did it look familiar? 

     Then she opened the box, and inside she found a folded bunch of white silk. She stood up, and it unfurled to reveal the dress she had been longing for in the mall. The bodice and skirt were done in silk, but it had wide belled-sleeves made of antique lace. Thin spaghetti straps criss-crossed down the scooped back, the ends hanging down almost to the floor. The front was cut slightly lower than her normal shirts, but it wasn't indecent. Happiness danced in her eyes as she turned to look at him. One minute she was standing there looking at him, and the next, she found herself in his arms. 

     "Thank you, thank you! Inuyasha, it's beautiful!" she cried, not noticing the wink the hanyou and her brother shared over her head. 

     "I'm glad you like it," he said, restraining himself from pushing her away. This actually felt very nice. He smiled tenderly down at her before leaning down to whisper in her ear. This was all going exactly as Souta had said it would, and he hoped she wouldn't turn him down now. 

     "Would you wear that to the church Christmas party as my date?" he asked, holding his breath. He had no idea what her answer would be. She gasped, looking at him starry-eyed for a moment before realizing she had to give him an answer. Was this what he and Souta had been planning? Looking over at her brother, she saw him grinning widely as he opened his presents. It didn't take a genius to see he was in on this.

     "Of course I will, Inuyasha!" she yelled, hugging him tighter. Then she let go and returned to her seat. After all, there was still Souta's gift to unwrap. He handed it to her, and inside she found a picture of her favorite hanyou sleeping peacefully on his bed, one hand wrapped up in the blankets and the other hidden under the pillow. His ears drooped slightly and one fang glinted in the light. She smiled; never realizing her brother was such a matchmaker. 'He must really want Inuyasha to be his nii-chan,' she thought. 

     A tiny fist clutching a metal toy was thrust in her face, efficiently breaking her out of her reverie. 

     "Kagome! Make this work!" Riku said, shaking the transformer impatiently. She held out her hand for it, and turned it over, looking for the on/off switch. Finding it, she flipped it several times, but nothing happened. 

     "Argh! Come on!" she yelled, frustrated. Mrs. Higurashi neatly plucked it from her fingers, finding a battery compartment near the switch. It was empty. She chuckled and looked at her daughter.

      "Dear, it would help if you put batteries in it first," she said and Kagome fell off the chair. When she had excavated herself from the empty boxes and clinging ribbon, she giggled nervously. 

     "I knew that!" 

     "Sure you did. Are you sure you don't need your eyes checked?" Souta asked, holding up the box and pointing to where it clearly read, "batteries not included." Inuyasha began laugh. Kagome joined in too. Even she had to admit, it was kind of funny. 

     **Fingers…about…to…fall…off. First beating my brother's butt at Soul Caliber II, and now typing almost two-thousand words in an hour and a half…

     If you suddenly realize you never saw Kagome's grandfather in this chapter, it's 'cause I forgot about him until I read it over. I couldn't find a spot to fit him back in, so it didn't happen. You all know what he got, anyway. Sorry. 

     Thankies to all my great reviewers. Comments will be in the next chapter.

The tenth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me 

_Batteries not included_

_No parking spaces_

_Buy me something!_

_Get a job, ya bum!_

_Oh, facing the in-laws_

_Five months of bills_

_Yo ho! Sending Christmas cards_

_Oh gees, look at this!_

_One light goes out, they all go out!_

_And finding a Christmas tree._


	11. Stale TV specials

A/N: Hello everyone! I just have one thing to say: You knew the fluffiness was coming!

And: the last chappies should be out tomorrow. 

Oh, and: this one's much shorter than my recent chapters. It's barely over 1,400 words. 

Disclaimer: If you don't know by now, then I feel sorry for you. 

****

The 12 Pains of Christmas: chapter 11

"Oh, look Kagome! It's all the Christmas movies from when we were kids!" cried Souta, turning on the T.V. after all the presents had been unwrapped and all the toys ripped from their boxes. Itty bitty pieces were scattered everywhere. Kagome could have sworn a bomb had gone off in the living room. 

On the screen were the cartoons that had been playing since the late eighties. Every year without fail they would play over and over in twenty-four hour marathons. This year 'The Grinch Who Stole Christmas' must have won the lottery, because in the corner, tiny words appeared. They read 'Miss anything? Don't worry, Dr. Seuss' 'The Grinch Who Stole Christmas' will be on again next!' That meant it would be on for hours to come. Kagome couldn't say that she was anxious to see it. She had watched the exact same shows every Christmas day since she was a child. 

Riku and Kurai, however, were fascinated with the old animation. It was nothing like the stuff they usually watched on T.V. There they sat, for the next hour and a half, watching and absorbing. Occasionally a muscle twitched or an itch was scratched, but other than that, they were perfectly still. Amazing how little kids could do that. 

Inuyasha, too, was sucked in by the moving pictures on the screen. He particularly liked the mean green figure that resembled something between a demon and a human. The dog, Max, was kind of funny as well. 

Gradually Riku began to wiggle and squirm in his seat. Kagome knew the potty-dance all too well, and tried to shoo him into the bathroom.

"But I don't wanna miss the movie!" he complained, focused more on the screen than on anything else. Finally it got so bad she feared for the rug. Not being all that interested in the movie to begin with, Kagome simply scooped the boy up and walked to the bathroom. He struggled and fussed at first, but then found that he could still see the screen over her shoulder. When she closed the door, his whining began anew. 

"The faster you finish, the faster you can get back to the movie!" she shouted through the door. Immediately all noise within stopped. She heard the flush of the toilet seconds before Riku flew through the room back to his seat. Kurai barely looked up during this whole exchange, but Souta was quietly laughing at the potty-escapades. Seeing no reaction from anyone else, Kagome sighed and went to find her mother and grandfather in the kitchen. 

"Hi, Ryo! Hello, Mama. Good morning, Jii-chan," she said, pulling out a chair to sit in. Ryo clapped his hands and cried, "'Gome! 'Gome!" Her grandfather murmured something that sounded like a reply, but it was lost in the newspaper he was reading. Just as she was remembering that, in all the excitement, she hadn't eaten yet, Mrs. Higurashi laid a heaping plate of pancakes with syrup in front of her. 

"Yum! Pancakes!" she cried happily. Her mother made the best buttermilk pancakes for breakfast every holiday. Usually the whole family was sitting around the table to eat them, but today most of them were busy watching the old T.V. specials. And now it was almost time for lunch. 

"I know how much you like them, Kagome. I wouldn't forget," her mother said, turning back to the stove to cook up some more of the delicious flapjacks. Soon the buttery smell had filled the entire house. One by one, the people in the living room began to find their way to the kitchen. 

The smell even managed to pry Riku away from the screen, although grudgingly. It was with a loudly grumbling stomach the little boy wandered to the last empty seat. He heaved himself up to find a large plate of hot pancakes waiting for him. The frown was gone in a minute as he drowned the poor things in syrup and generously doused them with powdered sugar. More of it covered his face than got into his stomach.

After the table was cleared and the little ones back in the living room watching more vastly-overplayed T.V. movies, Mrs. Higurashi pulled a tall pitcher of eggnog from the back of the refrigerator. Pouring herself a glass, Kagome offered it to Inuyasha next to her. He vehemently shook his head, switching his glass to the hand plate farthest from Kagome. 

"I learned my lesson. No more of that stuff for me!" The hangover memory was still to fresh in his mind. He shuddered, he never wanted to go through that again. Kagome tried to tell him that this 'stuff' wasn't alcoholic, but he plugged his ears with his fingers and started humming. 

With a shrug, Kagome gave up and passed the pitcher down to her mother again. She put it back in the fridge and sipped her own glass.

"So are you going to wear your new dress to the party tonight, Kagome?" she asked, casually leaning on the counter behind her. The smile wouldn't be held back as her daughter choked on her eggnog. She coughed a few times and turned bright red. 

"Yeah, I g-guess," she said, trying to act natural, not realizing her blush refuted any chance of that. Inuyasha just stood back and watched the exchange.

"And can I assume Inuyasha's coming with us?" Mrs. Higurashi inquired, looking pointedly at him. 

"Feh. Of course," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. Kagome's mother beamed at the two of them. 

"Great! Just remember to watch out for the mistletoe!" she warned before walking out of the kitchen. Inuyasha looked at Kagome puzzled, but she was staring at the spot her mother had just left. 'She's in on the matchmaking, too! Gees, everybody's out to get us together!' she thought before trying to explain mistletoe to a confused hanyou. 

Mrs. Higurashi stood pressed against the doorway, listening as Kagome tried to explain why people kissed under "some funny-looking plant" as Inuyasha put it. 'I can't wait to be a grandmother! I wonder if they'll have little doggy ears like their father?'

**That's all for tonight. I meant to get this up earlier, but I snuck away to play my brother's Soul Caliber II when he wasn't looking. It's the only way I get to play. He's a little GameCube hog, that he is.

Thankies lots to:

sashlea, Musical Nymph of the Rose Forest, **hannahec88, Defafaeth Mechqua, kittykathy, strangerthanthou, The Turmoil Twins, Demongirl6381,** Lei Xang, and **xo-Kagome-ox.**

Again with the going backwards thing. From most recent to first for chapter 9

sashlea: Maybe. But it would be a different song or something. I'm already thinking of doing something like this for Harry Potter next year. I enjoyed my Christmas very much, thank you. What's your major? I figured his natural balance had to kick in sometime. It doesn't take long to get the hang of ice-skating either way. 

****

kittykathy: Nii-chan basically means 'brother.' 

****

strangerthanthou: With my family…yes! It is! 

****

The Turmoil Twins: I tried to hold off the cute-and-fluffyness as long as I could. The vast amounts of plot bunnies that spring from the fluff, however, refused to be ignored.

****

Lei Xang: I wouldn't be able to tell you if the lyrics are right, because I'm just going by what I hear. 

The eleventh thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me

Stale T.V. specials!

Batteries not included

No parking spaces

But I gotta go to the bathroom! 

Charities 

She's a witch, I hate her

Five months of bills

Oh I don't even know half these people!

Oh who's go the toilet paper, huh?

Get a flashlight, I blew a fuse!

And finding a Christmas tree.


	12. Singing Christmas carols

A/N: Hi guys. Sorry this wasn't up yesterday, but whatever I had at the beginning of the week came back with a vengeance. I'm feeling much better today, I actually slept until almost 2 in the afternoon.  This one will be pretty long though. And there _will_ be fluffiness abound. 

Disclaimer: That's it! I'm not saying it any more! 

**The 12 Pains of Christmas**: chapter 12

     "Kagome! Would you hurry it up already?" shouted Souta up the stairs. "You're gonna make us late!" 

     "Shut your mouth, brat! I'm done, okay?" his sister yelled back seconds before she appeared on the landing. Inuyasha took a sharp breath. She looked absolutely stunning in that dress. It was almost as if she were sparkling with some inner light. She smiled at him and started down the stairs, forgetting to pick up the corner of the long skirt. Halfway down she tripped, but before she could tumble the rest of the way down the stairs, a pair of warm arms caught her. Opening on eye, she looked up and saw Inuyasha's smiling face. Laughing was heard from the little boy waiting by the door. 

     "Souta! Stop it!" she snapped, pushing out of the hanyou's arms and straightening her dress, trying to regain some dignity.

     "You klutz! You can't even walk down the stairs without falling!" he managed to gasp out between chuckles. A sharp bop on the head killed his laughter as he saw his sister towering over him with a purely murderous look in her eyes.

     "Never before have I been so tempted to commit fratricide," she said, eerily calm. How dare he embarrass her further in front of Inuyasha! They were going to the church Christmas party and not only did she make a fool of herself, but Souta has to rub it in! Her brother quailed at her feet, and her date was quietly laughing at their antics on the side. Her three cousins stood, gaping, looking very uncomfortable in their little suits. 

     "Enough, you two! Let's just go, alright?" Mrs. Higurashi had been watching patiently, but now she truly feared for her son's life. She shuffled everyone out the door and into the car, making sure that her children were as far away from each other as possible. 

     "Auntie Ami, put on some music!" Riku called from the back seat. 

     "Tsk! How do we ask for something, Riku?" Kagome responded from the middle row before her mother could answer. 

     "Can you _please_ put on some music, Auntie Ami?" he corrected himself.

     "I sure can," she said, pulling out a random CD from the compartment between the two front seats. Putting it in, she was surprised to hear the song that came on.

     "Mom, I didn't know we had the Twisted Christmas CD!" Souta was busy turning the volume up as 'The 12 Pains of Christmas' opening began to play. All three teens sang along to the hilarious spoof, and before they knew it, the car was pulling up in front of the old church building. 'That song seemed kinda fitting,' Kagome thought as Inuyasha helped her from the car. Hand in hand, the couple made their way inside.

     "Kagome! Hey, Kagome!" someone shouted from behind them. The rumble emanating from the hanyou's chest warned her of who it was. Only Hojo could evoke that response from him. She plastered a smile on her face before turning to face the boy.

     "Hi, Hojo," her voice was laced with forced enthusiasm. But the naïve boy didn't catch on.

     "Oh, hi there, Inuyasha was it?" he asked, coming to stand with them.

     "Yeah. I'm actually here as Kagome's date," Inuyasha said, trying to warn the guy to back off. Hojo's smile faltered slightly.

     "Oh, I see—" he was cut off as Yuka and Ayumi came over, waving and calling their own greetings. 

     'Thank goodness,' Kagome thought. She didn't want to be mean, but seriously, Hojo needed to give up on her and find someone else who liked him that way. From the looks Yuka was giving him from the corner of her eye, there was already one person who did. 

     "I love that dress, Kagome. Where did you get it?" Ayumi asked, looking enviously at the white silk that clung to her friend's body almost as possessively as the boy on her arm. 

     Kagome grinned, gazing up into Inuyasha's honey eyes for a minute before turning back to her friend. "Inuyasha got it for me as a Christmas present. That, and he asked me to come tonight as his date." The girls oohed and aahed for a moment, gushing about "how very romantic" it all was. Inuyasha excused himself quickly, using the excuse of looking for Mrs. Higurashi and the pups to get away from all the girliness. Sure, he liked Kagome and all, but three squealing females were way too much. 

     He finally spotted them sitting at a table at the other end of the room. Souta was sitting looking very bored while Riku and Kurai tugged and pulled on various parts of his clothing. Ryo was gurgling happily in his booster seat, and he all but shrieked when Inuyasha walked up.

     "'Yasa! 'Yasa!" his voice got the attention of the other runts. All three heads popped up simultaneously. In an instant, the two little pups were clinging to _his_ clothes while Souta looked at him gratefully. 

     "Thanks, bro," he said before zooming off in the direction of the refreshment table, where Inuyasha saw a pretty young girl waiting for him. 'Bro?' he thought, before trying to remove the munchkins from his jacket sleeves. He finally disentangled their tiny fists and plopped them down in their seats on either side of Mrs. Higurashi. 

     "Thanks, Inuyasha. Have a seat. I'm sure Kagome will come looking for you soon," she said, motioning him towards the empty chair across from her. 

~*~

     "Hey, did either of you see where my date went?" Kagome asked a few minutes later when she noticed Inuyasha wasn't standing behind her anymore. A quick look around proved he wasn't in the mass of people surrounding them. 

     "Yeah. I think he wandered over to your mom's table. See, there he is," Yuka pointed him out above the crowd. She stood on tiptoes and barely saw the top of his silver head. 'Curses, why do I have to be short?'

     "Alright. Then, gals, I bid you good night," she replied, already making her way over. Just then, soft instrumental music began to play above the murmur of the crowd. A smile played on her lips as she came up behind her date and covered his eyes with her hands.

     "Hello, Kagome," he said. 'Darn those youkai senses, too,' she thought as he turned around to face her.

     "Dance with me, Inuyasha," she pleaded, grabbing his hands and leading him out onto the floor. She guided his warm arms around her waist, and settled her own about his shoulders. A quick demonstration was all the hanyou needed to get the gist of this modern 'dancing.' Kagome settled her head against his chest, and he rested his chin on the top of her head. Several songs started and finished before the couple broke the embrace and went back to the table. The minister, Reverend Peter, had just come up to the podium and was preparing to speak. 

     "Good evening, parishioners and guests. Welcome to our church's Christmas celebration. There is food, drinks, dancing and mistletoe. And later, there will be caroling for the younger crowd. So be merry this night, and don't forget to come to church tomorrow morning!" he said, and a few cheers rang out. He signaled the music and jumped down from the stage. A lively tune began to play and more couples began to step out on the dance floor. One of which, Kagome happily noted, was Yuka and Hojo. Of course, Yuka looked much more excited than her partner, but that wasn't a problem. 

     "Inuyasha, I'll be right back. I'm just going to some punch. Would you like a glass?" he nodded and she walked over to the refreshment table. As she poured the second cup, she happened to look up and saw Souta and a girl from his school standing a little ways away. Then she looked above them and found a small sprig of mistletoe. She smirked.

     "Hey Souta! Look up!" she called. Her brother's head jerked up in surprise, and he saw her pointing upwards. He turned his gaze up, and found the reason for Kagome's grin. A blush stained his face and he motioned for Mia, his secret crush, to look as well. She gasped and stared at him wide-eyed. He leaned in hesitantly and pecked her gently on the lips. His face couldn't get much redder, not that Mia was much better off. Kagome was laughing as she returned to her mother's table. 

     "Guess who got caught under the mistletoe?" she asked Mrs. Higurashi, handing Inuyasha his glass of punch.

     "Oh, no. Did you kiss someone other than Inuyasha?" her mother looked horrified by the very idea.

     "No! Mom, it was Souta! Souta and a girl from his class!" Kagome watched as her mother breathed a sigh of relief. 'What was that all about?' she wondered. 

     "That's good. You had me worried for a moment," even Inuyasha looked at Mrs. Higurashi confused. But the woman just shrugged it off. She noticed the dozing children at her side. Time for the sleep test. Kagome's mother lifted the sleeping Riku's arm and then let it drop. It was like dead weight. There was no way these kids would be up anytime soon. 

     "Inuyasha, would you help me get them into the car. I know they probably wanted to go caroling later, but I think we wore them out today. I'll take them home now, and you guys can walk later, alright?" she asked, hefting Ryo up out of his seat. Inuyasha lifted Riku and Kurai easily and followed Mrs. Higurashi out to the car. 

     "I'll be back in about 15 minutes, Kagome!" he called before going out the door. Kagome looked around for anybody to talk to, but Yuka was still dancing with Hojo and Ayumi was nowhere to be found. So she settled for sitting and tapping her foot impatiently. It would only be for 15 minutes, right?

~*~

     It was almost half an hour later. With much complaint, Souta and Mia had left with the caroling crew. The reverend was taking whoever wished to go over to the nearby home for the elderly to sing. She had shooed Souta out the door with them despite his protests. Kagome was just starting to get worried when Inuyasha burst through the door. His hair was all over the place and his suit kind of windblown, but it didn't matter to her. She leapt into his arms and he returned to hug. Inuyasha let her finger comb his hair back into semi-ordinance without much protest. But the people around the couple were beginning to smile. He couldn't tell if they were a bunch of old romantic coots or there was something he was missing. 

     "Kagome! Inuyasha! Look up!" hissed Yuka from somewhere to their left. Kagome was almost afraid to. But, sure enough, there was mistletoe hanging above their heads. She met Inuyasha's gold eyes again. He smiled at her, then leaned down and kissed her. Kagome heard the cheers and thought, 'Too bad Mom and Souta missed this. They both played matchmaker so well!' Then the ability to think clearly left her completely. And she didn't have a problem with that. 

     **That's it. That's the end. Possibly an epilogue, but not likely. 

Thankies lots to my best reviewers ever! You guys are great! There must have been 20-something reviews to chappie 11 (plus it's almost 2 in the morning), so I'm not going to do individual thanks and comments. Good night! 

The twelfth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me 

_Singing Christmas carols_

_Stale T.V. specials_

_Batteries not included_

_No parking?!_

_Wahhhh!_

_Charities!_

_Gotta make 'em dinner_

_Five months of bills_

_I'm not sending them this year, that's it!_

_Shut up, you!_

_Fine you're so smart, you rig up the lights!_

_And finding a Christmas tree._


End file.
